


Poisoned Youth

by Gold_On_The_Ceiling_42



Series: Stiles Winchester [2]
Category: Supernatural, Teen Wolf (TV), The Vampire Diaries (TV)
Genre: BAMF Caroline, BAMF Stiles, Stiles Stilinski is a Winchester, Stiles Winchester, Stiles is seriously awesome, TVD season 1, Teen Wolf between seasons 2 and 3, The Pack is clueless
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-17
Updated: 2016-01-16
Packaged: 2018-04-15 06:18:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 17
Words: 44,225
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4596108
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gold_On_The_Ceiling_42/pseuds/Gold_On_The_Ceiling_42
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Stiles Winchester, teenage hunter extraordinaire, travels with his brothers Sam and Dean to a quiet town in Virginia after catching wind of a possible case. He's expecting vampires, what he finds is so much more. A prequel to "Blood on my Name."</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Summer Break, Kinda

**Author's Note:**

> Hello and welcome. So, here's the deal. There's this crossover I began posting a couple weeks ago called "Blood on my Name," which is Teen Wolf and Supernatural, which explains how Stiles is Sam and Dean's little half-brother, and then they go hunt and stuff. This is a prequel and you don't have to read the original to enjoy this story, just know the sheriff's name is John, and he's not Stiles' biological father but Claudia is Stiles' mother and to the sheriff Stiles is for all intensive purposes his son. And his first name actually is Stiles, he's a hunter, and at this moment in time, the pack has no idea. This is in between TW seasons 2 and 3, and literally episode 1 of TVD, and it doesn't really matter for Supernatural. I think that's it. Enjoy!

Ch. 1 

Summer Break. Kinda. 

“Stiles!” Sheriff Stilinski shouted up the stairs to his son. “Get down here!” There was a crash, and Stiles came rushing down the stairs, with his hair disheveled, his shirt half buttoned, his belt undone, and what looked like shampoo on his face. 

“Dad! What’s up? What’s wrong?” Stiles asked, blindly reaching for his baseball bat, but missing and falling over. He went down with a squeak of protest, then bounded back up immediately, Arms out in front of him and eyes rapidly looking back and forth, searching for a threat. 

The sheriff stood in front of him with his arms crossed. “You haven’t taken your medication, have you son.” John Stilinski asked. 

“Nope.” Stiles said matter-of-factly. It was then that he noticed two hulking figures standing in the doorway. One had long brown hair, the other had short hair. Both were wearing flannel shirts with green overcoats, and both had ridiculously amused expressions. 

“Sam. Dean. Good to see you.” Stiles said nonchalantly as he tried to straighten his hair, fix his shirt, buckle his belt, and wipe the suds off his face, all at the same time. Needless to say, he failed, so he just stood still and took in the ridicule. 

“Stiles! Nice to see you!” Dean said brightly, a teasing expression on his face. Stiles flushed. 

“Yeah. What are you guys doing here? Last time I called you were on the other side of the country.” Stiles asked, shamelessly beginning to pull himself together. 

“Virginia. We were investigating a hunt. Do you remember what it was about?” Sam asked, stepping inside and taking off his coat. Dean followed suit. 

“Vampires. Yeah, I remember. Did you guys take care of it?” 

“No. See,” Dean looked at the sheriff for help. 

“Stiles,” the sheriff addressed his son after clearing his throat. “The boys... well, they need your help.” 

“My help?” Stiles asked, astounded. “Why? You’ve never taken me on hunts this serious. How could you possibly need my help for a nest of vampires?” 

“We’ll explain in the car.” Dean said firmly. 

“We’re leaving now?” Stiles all-but-shrieked. “I just got up five seconds ago! Now I’m going across the country to kill vampires?” Stiles turned to his dad. “How can you possibly be okay with this?” 

“Well,” the sheriff grumbled, “I thought you’d be ecstatic.” 

There was a pause, and then a wide smile broke out on Stiles’ face. “Oh, I am.” he said reassuringly. “I just had to make sure I wasn’t dreaming.” 

Stiles marched up to his half-brothers. “Give me five minutes.” Sam and Dean nodded. 

“Oh.” Stiles said to his family when he was halfway up the stairs. ”What’s my cover story?” 

Dean rolled his eyes. “You know you’re going to have to tell your werewolf buddies who you are eventually.” 

Stiles shot him a bitchface. “Not today.” 

“John’s covering for you.” Sam interrupted. “He’s going to tell all your friends that you have mono.” Stiles nodded and trooped up the stairs. He was well on his way to packing before he realized it. 

“THE KISSING DISEASE?” 

Sam and Dean grinned. 

 

“So this case?” Stiles snapped, reclining in the back seat of Dean’s shiny black ‘67 Impala. He was still a little ticked at his brothers for such a lame cover story, but nevertheless he was excited for the hunt. Vampires! The most Sam and Dean had dragged him to had been local hauntings, and even those had usually been busts. He knew how to kill Vampires, but had never met one before. 

“Right.” Sam said, turning around in the passenger seat to face his brother, while Dean kept his eyes on the road. “So get this. This town we were in, Mystic Falls, has had whole strings of animal attacks. Enough to make Mystic Falls look like the safest town in the world.” 

“Probably pre-Kanima.” Stiles muttered. 

“Right.” Sam said. “Good job on that, by the way. It’s too bad your friends couldn’t trust your instincts.” 

“I knew it was Matt.” 

Dean groaned. “We know, Stiles. How is the lizard freak anyway? Jason?” 

“It’s Jackson. And he’s fine. He’s moving to London in a couple days, good riddance. Derek’s a little shaken up, what with three of his betas gone or about to be gone. Lydia’s a little mad about the whole thing, and with Allison in France for the summer she’s been talking to me. Scott’s being a lovesick puppy, but what else is new.” 

“And the sheriff?” asked Dean. 

“He still can’t believe a 16 year old boy controlling a lizard told him what to do.” Stiles said with a laugh. Then, more seriously, “He’s fine. He lost a lot of officers, but I think he’ll be okay. What’s up with these vampires?” 

“Well,” said Sam excitedly, “there have been at least 20 reports of animal deaths in the last month alone. So I did some digging, and the reports go back further. Tons of them.” His voice dropped to a whisper. “All the way back to the town’s founding in 1864. Whatever’s going on here, it’s been going on for a while.” 

“What makes you think it’s vampires?” Stiles asked. “It could be a Wendigo.” 

“Nah.” Dean said over his shoulder. “Too far south. And the descriptions of the victims. Whatever lies were in the papers, one thing rang true. The victims were all exsanguinated.” 

“Did you talk to the cops?” 

“Yeah. Went full on fed.” Dean replied. 

“Nothing?” Stiles asked with disbelief. 

“Yeah. Either the Sheriff didn’t buy it, or for whatever reason she’s protecting the vamps. Which got us thinking.” 

“Turns out the town is kind of cliquish.” Sam interjected. “They’re big on old traditions. Here’s the clincher. In Dad’s journal, he mentions hearing about a vampire hunting society in Virginia. It never said where, but if it were anywhere, it’d be Mystic Falls. 

“The Sheriff isn’t protecting the vampires, she’s protecting the society.” Stiles finished. 

“Bingo.” 

“What does this have to do with me?” Stiles asked. Sam and Dean looked at eachother shiftily. 

“Thing is, Stiles,” Dean said. “This hunt, something’s not right. A lot of attacks are connected with the school. We need to get all angles, so you need to go undercover.” 

A laugh escapes Stiles’ lips. “I’m a little young to be a fed, Dean. Remember what happened last time?” 

Sam covered his hand with his mouth to hold back a chuckle. Dean glared at him. 

“I remember. That’s why this is different. You’re going to Mystic Falls High School.” 

Stiles stared at his brother in disbelief. “Don’t worry.” Dean continued with a wave of his hand. “You’ll be back in Beacon Hills in time for your Junior year.” 

“School starts in a month, Dean. We’re starting late because of all the trauma.” 

“Well MFHS starts in three days.” 

“A MONTH?” Stiles whined. “I have to go to school for an extra MONTH?” 

“Yep!” Dean said with a smile. Suddenly, a pinging noise filled the car. 

“It’s Scott.” Stiles said, looking down at his phone. “He wants to know how I’m doing.” 

“Why?” Sam asked. Stiles rolled his eyes in disbelief. 

“I have mono, remember?” Stiles shot Sam a nasty look. Sam grinned in response. 

“Alright you two, cut it out.” Dean said. He looked at his speedometer. “We’re about to hit the California border. At this rate, we should get to Mystic Falls just in time for school to start.” Stiles glared at Dean. “Sit back, kid.” Dean said, ignoring his brother. “It’ll be a long drive.” 

“Killing the vampires better be worth it.” Stiles muttered.


	2. Brave New World

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I felt bad cause chapter 1 was so short. I hope you all enjoy the whimsical titles. 
> 
> Anyway, here's the deal: you might want to re-watch TVD season 1 episodes 1-2, cause I follow them pretty closely for the first couple chapters and then I split off into new territory. Also I'm still trying to figure out italics. So if it gets confusing, re-watch the episodes and that should clear up timing. I know it doesn't work amazingly with the Teen Wolf timeline, but hopefully it's close enough. So, without further ado, enjoy!

Ch. 2

Brave New World

“His name is Stiles Stilinski?” The secretary asked in disbelief, looking up at the three brothers with an expression akin to _are you kidding me?_

It had been a long drive, with Dean breaking the speed limit several times, and him and Sam relentlessly teasing Stiles. Now they were in the dean’s office of Mystic Falls High School, trying to register Stiles for his classes.

“Stiles is his nickname.” Dean said with a charming smile the secretary didn’t buy. “His real first name is this.” He pointed down to the forms on her desk that they had filled out. The secretary looked down and paused, trying to sound it out, before giving up.

“Well, Stiles,” she said, addressing the shortest of the group. Stiles straightened up, the backpack slung over his shoulder making it difficult. “You’re a Junior? And you’re transferring from Beacon Hills High School?”

“Yes, Ma’am.” Stiles said respectfully. Dean patted him on the shoulder.

“Excellent grades.” The secretary commented, flipping through his school report. “We’ll try to put you in our most challenging classes. It may not be easy. Our school is a lot smaller than the one you came from.”

“I’m just happy for a change of scenery, Ma’am.”

The secretary smiled at his politeness. “You and your partner have a very impressive son.” she said to Dean. Stiles bit his tongue to stop from laughing.

“No!” Dean said loudly. “We,” he gestured wildly to Sam and himself. “We’re his half-brothers!” Then he hissed at Sam “ _Why does everybody think we’re gay???”_ Sam, to his credit, merely shrugged.

“I see.” The secretary said, flushing. “I apologize. So where are his parents?”

“His dad’s a little tied up.” Sam said, “So we brought him. He signed the papers, though.”

“I see.” The secretary said. “Well, everything seems to be in order. Enjoy your first day, Stiles.” She handed him a printed out schedule. Stiles thanked her then walked out of her office, brothers in tow.

“Alright, good luck man.” Sam said, shaking his hand.

“Anything comes up, just call and let us know.” Dean added. “We’ll be at the library doing some more research.” They began to walk away. “And Stiles?”

“Yeah?”

“Thank god you grew out your hair.”

Dean laughed at Stiles’ expression. Rolling his eyes, Stiles made his way into the hallways, ready for a brave new world.

 

“AP U.S. history.” Stiles muttered to himself as he looked at his schedule. He groaned. The secretary wasn’t kidding when she said he had all the hard classes. Stiles frantically searched for the right classroom, and was so engrossed in his task that he bumped into someone headlong.

“Sorry!” Stiles rushed to apologize, taking in the appearance of the boy he had run into. He was abou Stiles’ age, give or take a year, and was tall with messy brown hair. He was stockily built, which made Stiles think he was a jock, but he didn’t seem to care that Stiles had run into him.

“S’okay.” The boy slurred, and Stiles noticed the dazed, faraway look in his eyes, and the distinctive smell of smoke that clung to him.

“Dude!” Stiles commented. “You’re wasted!” The boy shrugged and began to walk away, when a voice stopped him in his tracks.

“Jeremy!” A shrill, feminine voice rang out, much too close to Stiles’ ears for his liking. He winced, and watched in fascination as a petite girl with long brown hair came up from behind him and began to drag Jeremy away, with no regard to Stiles. He watched as she pulled him into the nearby men’s restroom before losing interest.

“I see you’ve met the local druggie.” A voice said behind Stiles. He whirled to find a brunette girl with light brown skin. She smiled. “I’m Bonnie. And you are?”

“Stiles.” he said, rushing to shake her extended hand. In his haste he dropped his schedule. She picked it up and looked at it.

“You have history with me.” she said with a smile. “It’s down the hall and to the left.”

“Thanks!” Stiles said gratefully. Suddenly Bonnie’s attention shifted to something behind Stiles. He looked and saw someone else talking to the secretary in the dean’s office.

“It looks like you aren’t the only new kid.” Bonnie murmured.

The kid was tall, even more so than the druggie, and had on a black leather jacket and sunglasses. Typical hipster. Stiles tried to grab Bonnie’s attention, but she was transfixed by the latest arrival. “Please be hot.” she whispered.

Oh god. She was like Lydia. A flash of vivid red hair in his memory made him briefly homesick, but Stiles shook himself out of it. He would see his friends in a month. Abandoning Bonnie and her weird stalking, Stiles continued down the hallway. Sure enough, one left turn later, he was at the history classroom. Stiles entered, and was surprised to see that he was the first one there. _Do people in this school have any concern for punctuality?_ But, he supposed, they were all busy, catching up with friends, or whatever.

Figuring he had a moment, Stiles took a seat in the back of the classroom. He then pulled out his phone and saw one missed text fro Scott, from yesterday.

_Dude, your dad won’t let me see you!_ Scott’s text proclaimed mournfully.

_Sorry._ Stiles texted back hurriedly. _My dad takes quarantine orders very seriously. I’m surprised he’s letting me text you._ Stiles’ stomach churned at the lie, but it was better than telling his friend that he was enrolled at school on the other side of the country.

It was a minute before Scott replied.

_Dude! Why are you texting me at 5 in the morning? Aren’t people with mono supposed to SLEEP?_

Stiles winced. He forgot that he was in a different time zone. 8 am eastern time would be... Yeah. 5 am back home.

_I’ve been sleeping for like, 2 days straight. I’ve had enough._

_Then come out!_ Scott whined through his phone. _Jackson’s leaving today. We’re sending him off, werewolf style._

_No can do, Scotty. Dad’ll kill me._ Stiles replied.

Stiles was about to reply when a voice sounded from the front of the room.

“Phones away, please.” Stiles’ head snapped up as he realized that the classroom was now full. He was also relieved to not be the only one putting their phone away with a grumble. The teacher who had directed the class was at the front now, a tall guy with dark hair, and he was clearly a coach. _Great. Another Finstock_. Then he gave a little preamble about the fascinating history of Virginia. Stiles half listened and took notes on automatic. Just because he had to go here didn’t mean he had to do well.

“Psst.” A voice said to Stiles’ left. He turned to see a muscled guy with messy blond hair and bright blue eyes leaning over his desk and talking to him.

“I’m Matt.” Blond guy said. “You’re new here, aren’t you.” Before Stiles could reply, the teacher’s voice rang out,moving from his preamble to attendance.

“Matt Donovan?”

“Here!” Matt replied. The teacher continued to read off names.

“Yeah, I’m new.” Stiles said, and shook Matt Donovan's outstretched hand. “I’m Stiles.”

“Mr. Stilinski?” The teacher called out.

“Here!” Stiles shouted.

“You’re new, Mr. Stilinski?” The teacher asked, peering over his list.

“Yes, Sir!” Stiles said with a wave. Unimpressed, the teacher continued.

“Nice to meet you, Stiles.” Matt said. He didn’t say much after that, just stared at a girl with long brown hair who sat towards the front. Stiles recognized her as the girl with the druggie. He also saw the new guy in his class, as well as Bonnie. Stiles sighed and began to pay attention to what Mr. Tanner was saying. This should be interesting. Not.

 

Matt walked with Stiles out of history, apologizing for not talking more.

“It’s fine.” Stiles said. “You’re one of the only people to talk to me all day.”

“Who was the other?”

“Some chick named Bonnie.”

Matt nodded. “Yeah, she’s nice.”

“She is.” Stiles agreed. “Till the other new guy stole her attention.”

Matt grumbled. “I already don’t like him. He was staring at my ex-girlfriend all class period.”

Things began to click into place for Stiles. “So were you.”

Matt didn’t reply to that. “Listen,” he said, “It appears you don’t have any friends here. My friends and I are all hanging out at the Mystic Grill tonight, if you want to join us.”

“Sure!” Stiles said quickly. He cringed, hoping he didn’t come off as desperate. “Where is it?”

“It’s at the center of town. Only decent restaurant. You can’t miss it.” With that, he walked away. Stiles was confused. _Is it that easy to make friends when you aren’t known as the town spaz?_ Then, an equally horrible thought struck him. _Only one decent restaurant? What the hell kind of town is this?_

 

It was 8 o'clock when Stiles stumbled into the Mystic Grill. The warm light enveloped him, chasing away the night at his back. It was unexpectedly dark for the end of August, yet another weird thing about this town. He was excited to hang out with his new friends, but that didn’t stop him from being careful. Per Sam and Dean’s suggestion, Stiles had a machete in his jacket pocket, as well as a silver knife and a canteen of holy water. He didn’t really know what to expect, so he had to expect anything.

The Grill was crowded, to say the least. Stiles walked in and almost panicked. He had no idea where to find his friends among the se of people, half of which he recognized from his various, dull classes. Then, a waving hand stood out, and Stiles saw that it was Matt, sitting with a guy with black hair.”

“Stiles!” Matt said enthusiastically when he had finally made his way over. “Glad you could make it.” Stiles promptly took one of Matt’s curly fries and sat down next to him. “Tyler,” Matt said to the black-haired guy, “this is Stiles Stilinski.”

“Charmed, I’m sure.” Tyler said sarcastically, and Stiles winced, thinking of Jackson. At least Tyler wasn’t a werewolf. He was strong, like Matt, and practically screamed jock. He studied Stiles for half a second before losing interest.

“So Stiles,” Matt said, nudging Tyler for being rude. “Where are you from?”

“Beacon Hills, California.” Stiles said cheerfully.

“Wait, I’ve hear of that. Didn’t you guys have like, a serial arsonist last year?” Matt asked with interest. Tyler immediately perked up.

“Yeah.” Stiles said in what he hoped was a casual fashion. His blood ran cold at the mention of Kate. “Her niece, Allison, is a friend of mine.”

“That’s rough, buddy.” Tyler said unsympathetically.

“Is that why you moved?” Matt asked, after nudging Tyler again.

“Kinda.” Stiles said. He gulped. This is where he would have to lie. “My dad’s the sheriff in Beacon Hills. He felt that since he was dealing with all sorts of weird cases I was in danger, so he shipped me out here with my half brothers.” There. Not a total lie.

“Hm.” Matt said thoughtfully. “Caroline’s mom is the sheriff here.” Stiles snapped to attention. This is the sheriff of the secret vampire hunting society. Matt proceeded to wave over a bouncy blond girl talking to whom Stiles recognized as Bonnie.

“Hey Matt!” Caroline said cheerfully as she made her way over to the table. She was practically bouncing with energy. “Hey Tyler! Who are you?” she asked Stiles, a confused expression on her face. Stiles was about to introduce himself but Matt beat him to it.

“This is Stiles.” Stiles gave a mini wave, which made Caroline smile. “His dad is the sheriff of Beacon Hills, California.” With that, Matt got up to go talk to Bonnie.

“What brings you here, Stiles?” Caroline chirped. She leaned forward across the top of the tall table.

“My older brothers.” Stiles said. Caroline nodded eagerly, twirling her hair. Was it Stiles’ imagination, or was she _flirting_ with him?

“So you’re the other new guy?” she asked. Stiles nodded quickly. Tyler laughed at his obvious discomfort. “Do you know each other?”

“No!” Stiles blurted. “I don’t even know his name.”

“It’s Stefan.” Caroline said in a low voice. “And he- uh oh.” Her eyes raised to the door behind him. “He just came in.” Caroline said with an exasperated sigh. “With Elena.”

Stiles saw Matt jump up from his seat with Bonnie like he had been shocked. He walked briskly over to new guy and druggie girl, now christened Stefan and Elena. Caroline plopped down next to Stiles.

“That girl, Elena,” Stiles asked, gesturing to the girl with the long brown hair, who Matt was now talking to adamantly, “She’s Matt’s ex?”

“Mhm.” Caroline confirmed while sipping on the soda she had brought over with her. When she finished, she turned back to Stiles. “You learn fast.”

“He was staring at her all through U.S. history.” Stiles admitted.

“Oh! You’re in our history class?” Caroline exclaimed.

“Yeah, I guess.” Stiles replied with a weak chuckle. Caroline was nice, he guessed, but she had more energy than him, and _he_ had ADD.

“Well, I’d better go talk to her and Bonnie.” Caroline said simply. And suddenly, she was gone. Stiles was left staring at Tyler in disbelief.

“She takes a lot out of you, right?” Tyler said knowingly. Stiles could only nod.

“Does she _flirt_ with everyone?” Stiles asked, praying he wasn’t reading her wrong.

Tyler nodded. “Especially fresh meat. Look, she’s all over the new guy now.”

Stiles turned around, and sure enough, there was Caroline, sitting at a table with Bonnie, Elena, and Stefan. By her red face, Caroline had clearly been laughing a lot. Stiles noticed a particularly sour look cross her face when she saw that Stefan only had eyes for Elena.

Stiles couldn’t help but roll his eyes. It was the exact type of puppy-dog look Scott would give Allison. While he never had feelings for Allison, he could understand feeling left out.

Suddenly, Matt was back at their table. “Sorry.” he said. “I just had to go talk to my sister.” He jerked his thumb over to a girl with long, wavy brown hair and an apron, who was cleaning the bar. And talking to the druggie kid, Jeremy

“How is Vicky?” Tyler asked, in what he probably thought was subtlety.

Matt groaned. “Please tell me you aren’t sleeping with my sister!” Tyler only grinned ferociously. _Yep._ Stiles thought to himself. _Definitely Jackson._ Stiles couldn’t help but watch their conversation with fascination. Given that he and his friends were all only siblings, half-brothers excluded, they never faced problems like this. It was intriguing.

“You got a problem, Stilinski?” Tyler asked reproachfully, clearly off-put by Stiles’ staring.

“Yeah.” Stiles said, shaking his head out of a daze. “Sorry. It’s just that you remind me of my friend, Jackson. He’s a-” _Werewolf._ “-lacrosse player.”

Tyler snorted. “You play lacrosse?”

“Well, yeah.”

“Stiles!” Matt interrupted, clearly not liking where the conversation is going, “maybe you should try out for the football team.”

“I’m good, thanks.” Stiles replied. Though he appreciated Matt’s gesture, the image Stiles conjured of himself in a football jersey was a painful one.

“Well you could at least come to the party tomorrow night.” Caroline said as she bounded over. “Stefan’s coming. Maybe you two could bond over being newbies.” Over Caroline’s head, Stiles saw Elena and Stefan exit.

“Yeah, maybe.” Stiles said. He might have been paranoid, but something was a little off about Stefan. “Where’s he from?”

“Here, according to Caroline.” Bonnie said as she joined their table. “Hi Stiles.”

“Hey.” Stiles muttered. Two beautiful girls were now staring at him. What was his life?

“Sorry if I was rude to you earlier.” Bonnie continued. “It’s just so exciting, having new people here.”

“If you say so.” Stiles replied. He rubbed the back of his neck nervously. Too many people were focusing on him. He didn’t like it.

“Matt said your last name is Stilinski.” Caroline said as she leaned forward. “Is your name Stiles Stilinski?”

“No.” Stiles replied with a nervous laugh. “I mean, the teacher called me Mr. Stilinski, and I introduced myself as Stiles, so I could see where you would think that. Stiles is my nickname.” _Kinda_. “My real name is unpronounceable. So just call me Stiles.” _Winchester._

Caroline smiled. “Well, Stiles,” she said, her voice full of implication, “you still haven’t answered my question. Are you coming to the party tomorrow night?”

Bonnie, Matt, Tyler, Caroline, and even Vicky, who was passing by, all looked at him expectantly. Booze, girls, vampires, partying... His brothers would be thrilled. Stiles gulped.

“Sure.”


	3. This Is Where I Leave You

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh, look, another chapter. I hope you guys are enjoying the story! So this is the chapter where a bit of the AU aspect of the story starts to take place. But it still follows episode 2 of season 1, which I recommend re-watching. Enjoy!

Ch. 3

This Is Where I Leave You

“A party?” Dean asked incredulously.

“Yes.” Stiles replied exasperatedly. He hadn’t stayed long at the grill after accepting his invitation to the party, and even though that and his U.S. history class were the only eventful things of the day, he was still tired. He was sitting on the bed of his motel room now- Sam and Dean having the room next door- talking to said brothers, when all he really wanted to do was sleep. Maybe it was punishment for pretending to have mono.

“You made friends and got invited to a party on your first day?” Dean asked, a ridiculous smile on his face.

“ _Yes_.” Stiles repeated.

“Dean, stop enjoying this.” Sam chided.

“I can’t be proud for my baby brother?” Dean said as he turned to Sam, an expression of mock hurt gracing his face. “I’m just happy the kid has it in him to be a social butterfly.

“Can I go?” Stiles asked.

“Only if you take your machete.” Dean said, suddenly serious. “And your knife. If the vampire is connected to the school, then this is the exact type of situation where it would flourish. So Stiles, call us the minute this goes south. Cause it will go south.”

“You’re sending me to a party where you know something bad will happen.” Stiles muttered.

“What was that?” Dean asked.

“Nothing.” Stiles said with a smile. “This is all just a little surreal.” Stiles was actually liking this newfound independence. It was a refreshing break from being under constant watch from his pack.

“Oh, Stiles, two more things.” Dean said on his way out. “One, no drinking.” Stiles rolled his eyes but what Dean said next made him stop. “There will almost certainly be a vampire attack tomorrow night, and if your judgement is impaired, you can’t stop it.” Stiles nodded somberly. “Also, pack up your things. If you’re going to blend in, then you can’t be living in a motel. Sam and I found a place on the edge of town with cheap rent. Well, cheaper than living here for a month.”

“Ok.” was all the reply Stiles could muster. Dean merely nodded, and he and Sam left Stiles to the intricacies of sleep.

 

The next day, Stiles payed attention in history class. He was beginning to get a hang on the structure of the class. Mr. Tanner would talk about local civil war history in preparation for something called “Founder’s Day,” and then he would take attendance before moving on to the regular curriculum, which at the moment was Spanish colonization of the western hemisphere. Today the local history was the battle of Willow Creek, which apparently happened in town, and Stiles took notes on everything, even Stefan’s (fairly rude) interruption. He didn’t know why, but his instincts told him it was important.

Stiles also payed attention during attendance, taking down the names of everyone he had met at The Grill last night.

_Bonnie Bennet_. “Here.” Bonnie said, a couple seats in front of Matt, before going back to doodling.

_Matt Donovan_. “Here!” Matt said next to him, giving a polite wave to Stiles.

_Caroline Forbes_. “Present!” Caroline chirped, ever one for standing out.

_Elena Gilbert_. “Here, Mr. Tanner.” Elena said with a raise of her arm.

_Tyler Lockwood_. “Here, Coach.” Tyler said from the back. Stiles saw him promptly fall back asleep. _The mayor’s last name is Lockwood_. Stiles thought. _Tyler must be his son._ It certainly explained the entitled attitude.

_Stefan Salvatore_. “Here.” Stefan said, a few chairs in front of Stiles, before going back to drooling over Elena.

There was a pause, then,

_Mr. Stilinski_. “Just call me Stiles, Coach!” Stiles said brightly from his seat in the back. The coach rolled his eyes before finishing the rest of the names.

Stiles grinned.

 

Styles had been to some of Lydia’s parties, but while they were organized, this was just simply a bunch of teens having fun. A lot of fun with a _lot_ of booze. The kids weren’t even trying to be subtle about it, with actual six packs going around, as well as oceans of beer bottles. It was a stark contrast to Beacon Hills, where the only people who got wasted were stupid jocks and stupider freshman. Stiles cringed as he remembered the one time he had gotten drunk with Scott, right before they found out Peter was the alpha. It wasn’t an experience he wanted to relive.

Heeding his brother’s warning, Stiles had brought with him his silver knife as well as a machete that somehow fit into the lining of his sweatshirt. He was also refusing any drink that was brought to him, earning him some weird looks from Matt.

“You alright, man?” he asked, not entirely sober.

“Yeah,” Stiles replied casually. “It’s just the last time I drinked at a party, my friend spiked the punch with” _Wolfsbane_. “a lot of alcohol. I had” _to deal with Peter coming back to life_. “a massive hangover.”

“Understandable.” Matt said. Stiles laughed to himself. Hardly. While talking to Matt, Stiles was keeping an eye on everyone at the party, making sure no one went off by themselves. So far it was easy, the only people wandering from the bright lights of the gazebo were in pairs of twos or threes, and they weren’t going very far. The warm atmosphere was an intoxicating environment no one wanted to leave.

Matt wasn’t paying full attention to Stiles, either. He was watching Elena, who was talking to Bonnie, then Stefan, who was talking to Caroline, and a disgruntled look passed his face when he saw Tyler hitting on Vicky. Then, suddenly, Caroline and Bonnie came over, the former looking hurt, the latter looking shaken.

“You okay, Bonnie?” Matt asked his friend, his voice full of concern. Caroline turned toward her friend, too.

“Yeah.” Bonnie said softly. “I just-”

Stiles tuned Bonnie out as he struggled to keep an eye on everyone. Tyler and Vicky stepped into the woods, which made Stiles tense up, but he relaxed when he saw Jeremy follow. An argument would probably occur, which would hopefully lead them all to come back here. Then, Elena and Stefan went to go walk around, and Stiles began to panic again, but it looks like Matt saw them, too.

“C’mon guys,” Matt said to their little group, “let’s go that way.” He gestured to the brightly lit trail next to the bridge that Elena and Stefan were now walking on. Stiles was a little creeped out by Matt’s insistence on spying on his ex, but he was too relieved to care. Now he could look out for vampires.

The stood on the trail chatting for a little bit, Matt keeping a steady eye on Elena, and everyone else pretending not to notice. With nothing else to talk about, the conversation turned to Stiles.

“So, Stiles,” Caroline said casually, “you’re the son of a Sheriff. It’s interesting, right?”

“Yeah.” Stiles said adamantly, relieved to have something in common with something. “I mean, the phone calls alone!”

“You listen to your dad’s phone calls?” Caroline asked in disbelief. Too late, Stiles realized that he had probably said too much.

“You don’t?” Stiles replied with a steady grin. Caroline grinned right back.

They made their way back over to the bonfire, and Matt, not even hiding it, ran to go talk to Elena. Caroline all but charged at Stefan. This left Stiles with Bonnie.

“What happened earlier, Bonnie?” Stiles asked, remembering the dazed look on her face earlier.

“Oh, that.” Bonnie said with a wave of her hand. “It’s just, my grandma said I’m psychic, and I tried it out and it just got a little weird, that’s all. I was drunk”

“Really?” Stiles asked. The gears in his mind were whirring. Something similar had happened to Lydia last year. But Bonnie probably hadn’t been bitten by a werewolf. With vampires in town, though, nothing could be a coincidence.

“Yeah.” said Bonnie. “But that isn’t very interesting. You just moved here. Where do you live?”

“A condo with my brothers on the edge of town.” Stiles replied. It was nice, if a little small, and like his brother had said, surprisingly cheap.

“Matt lives near there.” Bonnie replied. Then, out of nowhere, Matt’s voice rang out.

“Vicky! What the hell!” Bonnie and Stiles whirled around to see Jeremy setting Vicky down on a table, a huge gaping wound on her neck.

“Oh my god.” Bonnie and Stiles murmured simultaneously. _Dean was right_. They both rushed over, joined by Caroline, Elena, Jeremy, Tyler, and Matt. Tyler told everyone else to get back, while Matt instructed Bonnie to call the police.

“Here!” Stiles said, tearing off part of his shirt and handing it to Vicky’s brother. “Put that on her neck, keep pressure on it.” He looked down at Vicky’s neck, but the blood was too dry for him to see the wounds. When Bonnie returned from calling the cops, No one noticed Stiles slip away to make a call of his own.

“Dean!” Stiles yelled frantically, pressing number two on his speed dial. “It happened! Someone was attacked.”

“I know. I just heard it over the police blotter. Stiles, calm down.”

“Ok, ok.” Stiles took several deep breaths. “Dean, I kept my eyes on everyone the whole time. I thought Tyler and Vicky would come back-”

“Stiles, it’s okay.” Dean reassured. “You can’t see everything.”

“It doesn’t make sense!” Stiles insisted. “I didn’t see anyone lurking around.”

“Then they’re good.” Dean said firmly. “Or it’s one of the students.”

“Dean, they’ve all known each other their whole lives!” Stiles yelled into his phone.

“Well is there anybody new?” Dean asked. “Anybody who might draw suspicion?”

Stiles’ stomach dropped as he came to realization. He lowered his phone from his ear as he searched the crowd. Then he found him. Stefan Salvatore was backing away from the scene, a look of horror plastered onto his face.

Stiles raised his phone back to his ear. “Yes.” he told his brother. “Yes there is.”

 

Once Matt got into the ambulance with his sister and it drove away, Caroline suggested they all go to The Grill to wind down. What she really meant was sober up.

“That’s okay.” Elena said, doing a double take when she saw Stiles. “I’m just going to take my brother home.” With that she walked over to Jeremy, and her behavior on the first day of school towards him began to make sense to Stiles. They were siblings.

“Stiles?’ Caroline asked. Stiles nodded, only because Caroline looked close to tears. Also because he now needed to know everything about Stefan, and she seemed like the person to ask.

At The Grill, Caroline and Bonnie were grumbling about sobering up, while Stiles half listened. Then, suddenly, Caroline burst into tears.

“I always say the wrong thing!” Caroline sobbed. “And Elena always says the right thing!”

Stiles looked at Bonnie, alarmed. “Caroline asked Stefan out.” Bonnie explained. “She got turned down pretty harshly.”

“Oh.” Stiles said. What he didn’t say was that she was probably better off. Bonnie mumbled some reassurances to Caroline. It was then that Stiles noticed the guy at the next table, staring at her. “Hey, Caroline.” he nudged his friend. She looked at him blearily. “It looks like you’ve got an admirer.” Stiles subtily inclined his head towards the guy, and then he and Bonnie grinned at each other knowingly.

The guy was young, from what Stiles could tell. He couldn’t be more than a few years older than them. He had jet black hair and a matching leather jacket, and while there didn’t seem to be anything suspicious about him, Stiles couldn’t be sure. Nevertheless, he and Bonnie got up and walked away for a minute, chit chatting about what could happen.

When they came back, Caroline was alone and the guy was gone.

“What happened, Caroline?” Bonnie asked her friend. Caroline sighed.

“We stared at each other. I waved, he waved back. Then I turned around for a second and then he was gone.”

“Shame.” Bonnie said. “He was cute.” However, alarm bells were going off in Stiles’ brain. He needed to find this guy.

“Stiles, do you want a ride home?” Bonnie asked.

“Are you okay to drive?” Stiles asked reproachfully.

“Yeah, I didn’t have anything to drink.” Bonnie said.

Then why did she pass off her weird behavior as being drunk?

Stiles contemplated this as he entered her black car, however he didn’t get a chance to ask as his phone rang when they were on the road. Stiles shot Bonnie an apologetic look. She merely shrugged.

“Yeah, Dean?” Stiles said. _My brother_. he mouthed to Bonnie.

“Stiles, hey!” Dean said in his ear, rather loudly. To Stiles it sounded like he was in a car. “Listen, I wanted to call you before you got home. Sam and I had to hit the road.”

“What?” Stiles all-but-shouted. “Why?”

“It’s Bobby.” Dean said simply. “He says Rufus is in trouble. We need to go help. Stiles, we wouldn’t leave if we thought you couldn’t handle yourself.”

“Dean, there was an attack tonight!” Stiles said. Bonnie shot him a weird look. He ignored it. “I don’t know what’s wrong.” Stiles continued, careful to avoid using the word vampire. “I’ve never done this before. I need your help.”

“We’ll be back in a few days, Stiles.” Dean said gruffly. “I don’t like this very much either, but this is Bobby. We owe him. If it’s nothing Rufus can’t handle, we’ll be back before you know it.”

“Alright.” Stiles said, resigned. Hunting vampires knowing his brothers could back him up was one thing, but by himself? Stiles was already picturing the pyre his body would be burned on.

“Stiles, stop it!” Dean snapped, knowing where his brother’s mind was headed. “Look, I knew something like this would happen eventually. I was hoping it was when we had a better idea of what we were fighting, but I prepared. I called the sheriff yesterday, and he’s having your jeep sent over. It should be in the parking garage tomorrow morning. Listen, you call us every day, and you keep us updated, ok. _Be careful_. Hang out with your friends, go to school, be normal. Good luck.”

“Bye, Dean.”

“See ya, kid.” The line went dead. Stiles sighed heavily.

“What was that about?” Bonnie asked.

“Nothing.” Stiles said. “My brothers are just going out of town for a few days. Work emergency.”

“Oh, ok.” The rest of the car ride elapsed in silence, until Bonnie pulled up to the condo. “Well,” she said, “here we are. I’ll see you tomorrow?”  
“Yeah.” Stiles said. He got out of her car, and as she drove away, he couldn’t help but think of how screwed he was. Scott was in the dark, his brothers were gone, and one of his only new friends was driving away. He was well and truly alone.


	4. Very Superstitious

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, it's been a while since I've updated, I apologize, so I'm just going to post a couple chapters now. I hope everyone is enjoying the story! In this chapter, Stiles settles in to Mystic Falls and begins to investigate further. Also, it's still a tag to episode 2 but after this chapter the plot differs

Ch. 4

Very Superstitious

Stiles woke up and looked out the window. Sure enough, his baby was parked in the driveway, keys in the ignition, and when Stiles walked out to it he saw a note from one of Dad’s deputies, saying he owed the sheriff a favor, had always wanted to drive across the country, kept the jeep in very good condition, and took the first flight back. Stiles grabbed the keys and hurried to school.

When he got there, everyone was aflutter about what happened to Vicki. Stiles heard five different conversations about her on his way to class, but it finally settled down when he got to history. He waved at Matt before taking notes on the comet Mr. Tanner was talking about. During the whole class, he kept his eye on Stefan. Even if he wasn’t a vampire, something had to be off about him. Three things were new about Mystic Falls. He was one of them, a hunter. Then there were the attacks. It couldn’t be a coincidence that Stefan was here too.

At the end of the day, Stiles ran into Caroline while he was looking for Stefan.

“Hey Stiles!” she said with her usual energetic self.

“Hey!”

“Have you seen Bonnie?” she asked. “She said earlier that her grandma said she’s a witch. I’m trying to talk her out of it.” Stiles did a double take. A witch? If that was true then things just got weirder. Stiles didn’t know that witches could be unaware of their power. While it didn’t always come from demons, it was almost always bad. Stiles pointed into a direction he vaguely remembered Bonnie going in, and Caroline took off. It was then that he saw Matt, walking away from Elena.

“Matt!” Stiles said, rushing over. “Hey! How’s Vicki?”

“Fine.” Matt replied. “At least, she’ll live.” Matt looked exhausted. Bags formed under his eyes.

“Did she say who attacked her?” Stiles asked. Matt shot him a weird look. “ _What_.” Stiles corrected. “What attacked her.”

“She said it was a vampire.” Matt muttered. Stiles froze. “Crazy, right?”

“Yeah...” Stiles said, but as he looked around the school grounds, he couldn’t help bt notice that someone was missing. “Hey, have you seen Stefan? I never got to talk to him last night.”

“He was over there a second ago.” Matt said, pointing to an empty table a few yards away. “I don’t know where he’s gotten to now.” Stiles nodded, panicking inside. Was Stefan about to finish Vicki off? “Listen,” Matt continued tiredly, “I’m going to go check on Vicki.”

“That sounds like a great idea!” Stiles said. Matt merely nodded before walking away. Stiles looked over again at the table, and saw Elena looking too. She must be looking for Stefan. Stiles thought. Then, without warning, she caught his eye.

“Hey,” she said, walking over to him.

“Hi.” Stiles said back, confused.

“I’m Elena.” She offered him her hand.

“I know.” he said as he shook it. “I’m Stiles. I’m in your history class.”

“You are?” she asked. She tilted her head as she tried to remember. “Oh! You’re the one who’s name Mr. Tanner never says!”

“Yeah.” Stiles said. “It’s really long and annoying. So please, call me Stiles.”

“Nice to meet you, Stiles.” Elena said sincerely. “Sorry I haven’t introduced myself earlier. I saw you at the party last night but I couldn’t place you. Are you a friend of Matt’s?”

“Yeah, I guess.” Stiles said. He had to assume anything he said to her could be told to Stefan, the possible vampire. “I mean, I’m new, and he kind of took me under his wing. I’ve also met Tyler, Caroline, and Bonnie.”

“Wow. So everyone except me.” she said with a laugh.

“And Stefan.”

“Well he’s new, too.” Elena said with a wave of her hand. “Since you’re new, I guess you don’t know about the comet viewing party tonight?” Seeing that Stiles shook his head, she went on to explain. “This comet is overhead, hasn’t been sighted since the town’s founding in 1864. We’re having a party in the town square, you should come. I’ll introduce you to Stefan.”

“Well, then I guess I’ll see you there.” Stiles said with a false smile. Elena was nice and everything, but he didn’t know if Stefan was a threat, whether she could be trusted. He needed to meet him. Elena waved and walked away. _She’s nice. I guess_. Stiles thought. _Sucks that she’s dating a possible vampire_. But he supposed that’s just how it goes.

 

Stiles drove back to his makeshift home, dropped off his school stuff, then drove back to the park to wait for the comet festival to start. He sat on a park bench, waiting. He saw Caroline, Bonnie, and Elena talking over at the Mystic Grill, and was about to go join them when his phone chimed. It was Scott. Thinking how weird it was that Scott hadn’t texted him the other day, Stiles immediately saw why. His phone had been on silent, because he had only used it to call Dean. Stiles had seven missed calls from Scott. But he swore when he saw the texts.

_Stiles? Whassup, man?_

_Stiles, are you asleep?_ Then, hours later,

_Are you all right?_

_Stiles, I’m getting worried._

_Your dad’s not answering his phone. I’m coming over._

Finally, from late the previous night all the way to the current afternoon.

_Stiles, why won’t you answer the door?_

_Stiles, where’s your jeep?_

_Stiles! I went up to your room and you weren’t there! It looks like you haven’t been there for days!_

_STILES! WHERE ARE YOU????? CALL ME!!!!!_

_Derek says he can’t rack your scent, you’ve been gone for too long._

_STILES WHERE ARE YOU?_

_CALL ME!_

Biting the bullet, Stiles dialed Scott’s number. Scott picked up after the first ring.

“Stiles? Where are you? Are you hurt?”

“Scott! Calm down. I’m fine! Relax!” There was a pause, and Stiles could hear his friend take several deep breaths. Then...

“You don’t sound sick.”

“That’s cause I’m not.” Stiles said with a sigh. “I’m in Virginia.”

“Virginia? Why?” Scott asked. Stiles rooted around in his brain for an explanation.

“A friend of my dad’s lives here.” Stiles said, grabbing on to a key detail he remembered. “The sheriff of the town I’m in. Sheriff Forbes. They met at a convention. I’m visiting her and her daughter, Caroline.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Scott asked, hurt in his voice. “And why did your dad lie?”

Stiles sighed. He was going to have to play the guilt card. “I didn’t tell you because I didn’t want you to be jealous. You came with us on our last family trip.” _Eight years ago._ “Dad didn’t tell you because he didn’t tell anyone. Scott, I also didn’t tell you because of the real reason I’m here.” He paused. “Dad doesn’t know the truth about what happened, and it’s kind of freaking him out. He sent me away for the rest of the break because he’s worried. I didn’t want to tell you because I didn’t want you to feel guilty.”

Stiles heard Scott take a deep breath, processing everything. Meanwhile, the lies churned in his gut.

“You should have told me, man.” Scott said, and Stiles knew he was in the clear.

“Yeah, I know. I’m sorry.” Stiles meant it too, just not for the reasons Scott thought. _I’m sorry you’re so in the dark._

“Alright, I have to go, Derek’s calling me.”

“Call you later, Scotty.”

Stiles hung up, unaware that a guy with jet black hair and a matching leather jacket standing across the street had heard the whole thing.

 

“Stiles!” Caroline said as she ambushed him a few minutes after making the phone call, brimming with excitement.

“Hey, Caroline, what’s up?”

“I saw him again, Stiles, that guy from last night! He was right over there!” Caroline turned and pointed to across the street from where Stiles had talked to Scott.

“Really?” Stiles asked, suddenly interested. This guy could be a clue. “Did you talk to him?”

Caroline shook her head. “No.” she said mournfully. “I lost him in the crowd. But then I saw you and thought to tell you my other good news!”

“Yeah?” asked Stiles, confused. He had only known her for three days.

“Mhm. I mentioned to my mom that your dad’s the sheriff of Beacon Hills. You know, cause she knows a lot of sheriffs.” _Uh oh. Where’s this going?_ “Well, turns out she knows him!”

“Really?” Stiles asked, taken aback. Did the lie he just told Scott come true?

“Yeah, she met him through another sheriff friend of hers, Jody Mills.”

“Oh, okay.” Stiles said. Jody Mills. Where had he heard that name before?

“Anyways, Bonnie told me that you’re living alone, since your brothers skipped town, so I was wondering if you wanted to stay with us? My mom already called your dad.” Caroline looked at him expectantly.

Stiles’ head was spinning. What was happening? He had met Caroline three days ago, and suddenly they were family friends? “Uh... let me call my dad.” he stuttered out. He walked away and took out his phone before dialing up his dad.

“Hey, Dad.” Stiles said, another wave of homesickness washing over him.

“Hey, Stiles. Did you get your jeep?” John Stilinski replied. Stiles could hear him munching, and prayed that he wasn’t eating a donut, or something equally horrid.

“Yeah. Listen, Dad, do you know the sheriff here? Liz Forbes?”

There was a pause before his dad replied. “Yeah, I do. I met her through Sheriff Jody Mills, who knows Bobby.”

“ _Oh_.” Stiles said, understanding dawning on him.

“Yeah, when I had to bail Bobby out of some hunting things a few times, I met her. We kept in touch, and she introduced me to Liz at a convention. She just called, but I thought that was through you.”

“No.” Stiles said, suddenly feeling better about the situation, knowing it was real. “Caroline.”

“Oh. Well, I’m glad you’re making friends, son. And I’m glad you won’t be staying on your own.” John said with sincerity.

“Me too.” Stiles said. “Bye Dad.” He hung up. _I’m also glad that I can spy on the sheriff to see if she’s part of a secret vampire society. And keep Caroline safe, if it comes to that._

Stiles walked back over to his new housemate, who was talking to Matt. “Well?” she asked.

“When should I bring my stuff by?” Stiles asked. Matt looked confused, and even more confused as Caroline shrieked happily and gave Stiles a quick hug. Stiles grinned, and it was genuine. He liked Caroline, he decided. He liked her energy. She could never compare to Lydia, but she might make a great friend.

“Stiles is moving in with me!” Caroline said to Matt. Matt looked incredulous. “Turns out our parents know each other!”

“Oh!” Matt said. “Cool.” Caroline took out a pen and wrote the address for her house on Stiles’ hand.

Just then, Elena came over with Bonnie. “Hey everyone!” she said, smiling at Stiles. Caroline passed out the candles that she had been holding, and lit hers. Then, one by one, they all lit each other’s. After that, Elena went to go light other people’s while Stiles stayed to talk to Matt, Bonnie, Caroline, and even Tyler.

“So, Stiles.” Matt began. “What do your brothers do?”

“They’re” _hunters_. “mechanics. Traveling mechanics.” Stiles said, the lies rolling off of his tongue.

“Why did they come here?” Caroline asked. Stiles merely shrugged.

“I don’t know, but I’m glad they did.” he said, looking up at the comet streaking across the sky. “This is beautiful.” They all looked up into the sky for a few minutes, taking in the white streaks painting the canvas of stars. Then Tyler’s stomach growled, and they all moved inside to a table at The Grill. No sooner had they all sat down when Jeremy came running up to them.

“Has anyone seen Vicki?” Jeremy asked, panic filling his voice. Stiles’ blood ran cold at the mention of the vampire victim.

“She’s out of the hospital?” Stiles asked urgently, shooting out of his chair.

“Yeah.” Jeremy said. “She’s working tonight. Who the hell are you?” His hurried tone gave the words an angry bite.

“Stiles. Friend of Matt’s” Matt nodded in confirmation. “Look, where’s the last place you saw her?”

“Chill, Stilinski.” Tyler said. “She probably just found somebody else to party with.”

“I’ll start looking, okay?” Stiles said to Matt. Matt nodded, and Stiles left just as an argument was breaking out across the table. The last thing he heard was something about Jeremy sleeping with Vicki, which made sense.

“Alright, how about everybody shuts up, and helps Stiles look for my sister!” Matt yelled. By then, Stiles was racing across the square.

 

“Stefan!” Stiles yelled, seeing the tall, broody guy across the square. Stefan turned, and was surprised to see Stiles running towards him. Nevertheless he stopped and waited for Stiles to catch up to him.

“Hi!” Stiles said, after catching his breath. “You don’t know me. Well, unless you do. I’m Stiles! I’m new! Well, so are you! That’s why you don’t know me! I’m a friend of Matt’s...” he jerked his thumb over to The Grill, panting after every few words. “His sister, she’s missing. I was wondering if you’ve seen her?”

“No, I haven’t, sorry.” Stefan said, and he sounded sincere. “I’ll keep my eyes out for her, though.” He turned and began to walk away.

“Matt saw you at the hospital!” Stiles said to Stefan’s retreating back. “He told me.” That was a lie. Matt had said nothing. But if Stefan had had anything to do with Vicki’s injury, he would have gone to see her. If not for silencing her, then surely for guilt.

Stefan turned around. “I was seeing someone.” _Bingo._

“Oh.” Stiles said. “Cool. My best friend’s mom is a nurse. I used to go to hospitals all the time. Not because I was injured! Though that happened once. Long story, my friend had a stupid idea. It was weird because I’m normally the one with the stupid ideas.” While Stiles was rambling Stefan was fidgeting from foot to foot, clearly agitated. That was all the proof Stiles needed that he knew something. Innocent people don’t suddenly act like they have some place to be moments after finding out a person is missing. Both of Stiles’ fathers had taught him to spot if a man is guilty or not. Stefan was broadcasting all of the signs. It was time to see just how much he knew.

“Like walking into the woods at night.” Stiles continued with intentful nonchalance. “Looking for a body. That was another stupid idea of mine.” Stefan immediately stopped fidgeting, and Stiles knew he had him. “I dragged my friend with me, and he got attacked by an animal.” Stefan’s eyes widened. “Actually, there was a whole string of animal attacks where I lived. Just like here. I moved to get away from them, but that clearly didn’t work.” Stiles shot Stefan a wide sarcastic smile. “It’s why I connect with Vicki, you know? My friend was fine, but I’d hate to see it happen to anyone else.” Stefan merely nodded, but inclined his head weirdly, almost like he heard something.

“Listen, Stiles, I’d love to get to know you, but I have to go. It was nice meeting you.” Looking spooked, Stefan turned around and walked briskly away.

Stiles couldn’t help himself. “Be safe!” he called after him.

 

Stiles went back to the Grill a few minutes after talking to Stefan. Caroline promptly waved him over to where she and Bonnie were sitting.

“Did you hear?” Caroline asked. “Stefan found Vicki wandering around.”

“Did he now?” Stiles said, his suspicions confirmed. Stefan might not have wanted to kill Vicki, but somehow he knew how to find her. Or he knew who had attacked her.

“Yeah, look, Matt’s patching her up over there.” Bonnie added. Stiles looked and saw Matt applying a bandage to Vicki’s open neck. What had happened to her first one? Stiles walked over to his new friend.

“You found her!” Stiles exclaimed.

“Yeah. Thanks!” Matt said, looking insanely relieved. “Stefan said he wouldn’t have even known to look for Vicki if you hadn’t told him.”

“I ran into him.” Stiles said with a shrug. Matt smiled half heartedly, all his attention on treating his sister.

“Yeah, well, thanks again. I’ll see you tomorrow?”

“Totally.” Stiles said. Matt was a little worried about Stefan, Stiles could tell. That was good. He was cautious enough to keep himself safe, but not suspicious enough to get himself into trouble. That was Stiles’ job.

Stiles walked back over to Bonnie and Caroline. “Hey, Caroline,” he said. She looked up from talking to Bonnie. “I’m going to swing by the rental place and pick up my stuff in a few. Can my jeep fit in your driveway?”

“Oh, totally!” she said. “But you don’t have to leave now! Have a milkshake with us!”

“Am I missing something here?” Bonnie asked.

“Yeah. Stiles’ dad and my mom are old friends. He’ll be staying with me.” Caroline said. Bonnie nodded, and Stiles saw out of the corner of his eye Stefan enter the Grill and go talk to Matt. That was his cue to leave.

“Hey guys, have you seen Elena?” Stefan asked, coming to the table, blatantly ignoring Stiles.

“I think she left.” Bonnie said apologetically.

“I think I’m going to leave, too.” Stiles said.

“Ok, here.” Caroline said, writing down her phone number on a napkin. She gave it to Stiles. “Call me if you get lost. And my mom should be home to help you set up your room.” Stefan looked confused, borderline alarmed.

“You know what?” Bonnie said to Stefan, “Let me give you Elena’s number. She is big on texting, and you can tell her I said so.” Stefan nodded, and Stiles was about to walk away, when he saw Bonnie freeze when handing him the paper.

“What happened to you?” Bonnie whispered.

Stefan didn’t reply. Bonnie snapped out of it a minute later, and hurriedly made excuses. She ran for the door, and Stiles ran after her. Stefan watched both of them with a worried expression.

 

“Bonnie!” Stiles yelled after her. “What was that?”

“Look, I don’t know, okay?” Bonnie said exasperatedly as she got into her car. “I just... felt something. Look, it’s stupid.”

“No, it’s just, I have a friend back home. Weird things started happening to her, too.”

Bonnie paused. She looked up at Stiles, astounded. “What happened to her?”

“She got worse, because she never told anyone what was going on. Look, you’ve been getting advice from your grandma, right?” Stiles asked.

“Yeah, but she’s crazy.”

Stiles grinned. “The world’s crazy. Maybe you should listen.”

“Thanks Stiles.” Bonnie said, and she meant it. She got into her car looking very relieved, and drove away. Stiles watched her go with a smile on his face. What was it Bobby had said to him once?

_Not all witches are bad._


	5. Blown Cover

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, everyone, here's another chapter. It kinda-sorta follows the plot of episode three, but with more new stuff. Be sure to check out the sequel/precursor "Blood on my Name," if you want, and enjoy!

Ch. 5

Blown Cover

Stiles woke up to a spacious yellow room in Caroline’s house. He stretched, enjoying the sunlight filling the room. He had come home before Caroline the night before, and had met Liz Forbes. She was around the same age as his dad, with short blond hair, and she had been very kind, even heating him up some leftovers. Stiles was beginning to enjoy his time in Beacon Hills. He had friends, if they were a little blunt, a place to stay, and someone who reminded him of his mom. Once he got rid of the vampires, Stiles might even stay until school starts again back home. Speaking of which... Stiles was ready. He had planted the clues, he had seen the damage.

Today was the day to confront Stefan Salvatore.

 

“Mornin, Liz.” Stiles said with a yawn as he walked into her kitchen. It had become very easy to be comfortable around her, maybe because she was a lot like Scott’s mom. “Is Caroline here?”

“No, she left before I got up.” Liz replied, a coffee mug in her hand, and in uniform. “It doesn’t normally happen, but I have a late day at the office.”

“Right.” Stiles said, but he couldn’t help but be a little concerned.

 

Stiles didn’t see Caroline at school that day. He asked Bonnie and Elena, but they hadn’t either. Other than that it was a normal day, with Stefan and Mr. Tanner coming to blows over history dates.

“How’s Vicky?” Stiles asked Matt, while Tanner was distracted.

“Better.” Matt said. “Hey, tryouts are today. You coming?”

“Dude, no.” Stiles said with a grin.

“Stefan’s coming.” Matt said grudgingly.

“Well maybe I’ll watch.” Stiles said. It would be a good opportunity to keep an eye on him.

The school day ended, and still no Caroline. Bonnie, however, had come up to say hi in between classes.

“Stiles! I talked to my grams.” she said eagerly.

“Great!” Stiles said.

“She said I’m a witch.” Bonnie said seriously. “Is that possible?” Stiles paused before replying. How does he reassure her without telling her too much?

“Bonnie, did your grams say anything about your family history?”

Bonnie nodded. “She said we come from a whole lineage of witches. We came to Mystic Falls from Salem.” Suddenly, it clicked for Stiles. He didn’t know about witches, but he knew enough. He had researched them after Lydia was bitten. There were witches that drew power from demons. They had no magic in their blood. They were dangerous, used dark spells, and had horrible vendettas. These were the types of witches that Sam and Dean hunted down. There were wiccans, who performed spells. They had no real power, and weren’t often threats. Sam and Dean knew a few, and had even swapped info. Anyone could perform a wiccan spell, with the right ingredients. Bobby had done it on several occasions. Then there were the born witches, whose magic ran in bloodlines. They were the types of witches who could live for hundreds of years and perform horrible dark magic. Or, they could not. They could rely on spirits, or their own power. This was what Bonnie was. She was the real deal.

“Bonnie,” Stiles said, “I think you’re a witch.” She smiled.

“I think so, too. Stiles, what about your friend?”

“Lydia? Oh, she’s not a witch. I’m not sure what she is yet. Probably a real psychic.” Stiles said thoughtfully. Truly, he had no idea. Sam and Dean thought she was a banshee, but who knows? “Bonnie, don’t tell anyone but your grams what I told you, okay?”

Bonnie nodded. “Thanks for your help!” She gave Stiles a hug and walked away.

Then, Stiles went to the tryouts, just like he promised Matt. Stefan was sitting on the bleachers, so Stiles walked over to where the cheerleaders were practicing. He waved to Bonnie and Elena before watching his friends play football. It wasn’t long before Stefan was in the game, too. He was getting pounded, but Stiles couldn’t feel sorry for him. Not with Caroline still missing, and Stefan being a prime suspect.

Then, out of nowhere, Elena ran up to him. “Hey, Stiles!”

Stiles jumped. “Hey, Elena.” _I’m stalking your boyfriend. This isn’t awkward at all._

“I just wanted to let you know that Caroline got here, since you were worried earlier.” she said. Stiles whirled around and sure enough, Caroline was leading the cheerleaders, a scarf around her neck.

“Where was she?” Stiles asked, feeling relieved and worried at the same time. She was back, but for how long? Would she get taken again like Vicki?

“Get this.” Elena said in a way that reminded Stiles of Sam. “She was with her boyfriend.”

“That guy she met at the Grill?” Stiles asked. Elena confirmed with a curt nod.

“That’s not the worst part. I’ve met him before.” Elena said. A look of disgust flashed across her face.

“That bad, huh.” Stiles said. What Elena said only made him more worried.

“He’s charming, I guess, but a stone’s throw away from sleazy.” Elena said with a shiver. “He couldn’t be more different from his brother.”

“His _brother_?” Stiles asked. Okay, he was panicking now. _Please don’t be who I think it is. Please don’t be who I think it is._

“Oh, didn’t I say? It’s Damon. Stefan’s brother.”

Stiles was blind with rage. He didn’t even care that he was right. He knew something was up with those brothers, but it was another thing entirely to have it confirmed in your new friends. Elena started to look at him funny, so it took all of Stiles’ strength to mutter “I didn’t know he had a brother.”

“I didn’t either.” Elena admitted, “until I went over to his house.”

That gave Stiles an idea.

“Where does he live?”

 

Caroline had hitched a ride home with Stiles, acting like nothing was wrong. She was actually gushing words the whole way. And if her scarf was anything to be suspicious about, she was also gushing blood.

“I hooked up with him last night. Please don’t tell my mom.” Caroline begged, her eyes wide.

“I wouldn’t dream of it.” Stiles said.

“You are the best!” Caroline chirped. _When I’m not planning on killing your boyfriend_. Stiles thought.

“Oh, I almost forgot!” Caroline exclaimed. “Bonnie said to give you this.” She handed Stiles a sheet of paper folded around an object. Stiles opened it up, and out fell a simple silver bracelet. Stiles read the note.

_Dear Stiles,_

_You don’t know me, and I don’t know you, but thank you for getting through to Bonnie. Without you she might have stumbled along in the dark for years, blind to her true potential. If you are the type of person I think you are, please come by my house so we can talk. I imagine that we have much in common. Please wear the bracelet I’ve enclosed. If you know what kind of person I am, then know that it will protect you._

_Give Bobby Singer my regards,_

_Sheila Bennett_

On the bottom of the page was Sheila’s address.

Stiles immediately slipped on the bracelet. It was simple, and thick enough to be masculine, and had a strange herbal smell to it. Was it spelled? It was a well written letter, Stiles had to admit. It put all the information out on the page without saying any of the words. She was a witch, and she knew he was a hunter. And somehow, she knew Bobby Singer.

“What’s that for?” Caroline asked curiously. She reached out and touched the bracelet. Stiles paused before replying. Anything Stiles might say could reach Damon, should he fail to kill him, so he had to be extra careful.

“Bonnie found it while cleaning out her room.” Stiles said. “She gave it to me because I helped fix her car after the comet party the other day.” Stiles felt bad lying to Caroline, a girl he barely knew yet felt an unmistakable bond with. It was a bond he was beginning to feel with all of his new friends. Maybe it was because they were all the same. Stiles might be a hunter but he was still living in a town at the mercy of the supernatural. Where these kids were unaware, Stiles and his friends have had to endure. He hoped his new friends would never become those types of warriors.

“You fixed her car?” Caroline asked incredulously.

“My brothers are mechanics, remember?” Stiles said, grateful for the old lie. “Yeah, it wouldn’t start, so I fiddled around under the hood, and bingo!” With that, Stiles and Caroline arrived home.

 

“I’ve got to go, Stefan, I’ve got a date!” Damon said, rushing out of Stefan’s room. Stefan was exhausted, having just been chided about all things from school to his new girlfriend. Every conversation with his brother was a battle of wits, and Stefan had the impression that he was losing. If he could only find out why Damon was really back in Mystic Falls...

“Damon, wait. We have a problem.” Stefan said, before he could change his mind.

Damon stopped right outside the threshold of Stefan’s room, still halfway through buttoning his shirt. Stefan took his silence as permission to continue.

“There’s a new guy at school...”

“Are you referring to yourself in the third person, now?” Damon interrupted with a devilish grin. “Conceited, much?”

“No, besides me!” Stefan said, annoyed. “His name is Stiles. I don’t know how, but I think he knows about us.”

“What the hell kind of name is Stiles?” Damon asked, but now he looked more intrigued.

“Really?’ Stefan snapped. “That’s what you take in?”

“No, I picked up on the rest of it. I’ll kill him tomorrow.” Damon said easily.

“No, Damon! I think he might be like us, or a hunter.”

“Well what did he smell like?” Damon asked impatiently.

“Human.” Stefan admitted. “But I can’t be sure. My senses aren’t strong. I can’t compel him,”

“-cause of what happened last time.” Damon finished.

“So I can’t be sure. We can’t just kill him, because he might be a hunter. His death would draw attention we don’t need, especially when we’re trying not to tip of the founder’s council.”

“Touche.” Damon muttered. “This guy’s at your high school?” he asked incredulously.

Stefan scoffed. “Yeah, but that doesn’t tell us much. I’m at my high school.”

“What makes you think he knows about us?”

“Aside from the bodies you’ve been dropping?” Stefan said angrily. “He came up to me yesterday at the comet viewing.” Damon raised his eyebrows. “It was after you took Vicki. He’s gotten in on Elena’s friend group, and he talked to me under the pretense of looking for her. He could tell I knew something, and then he just casually mentions animal attacks.” Damon whistled. “He said they happened where he used to live, some place in California. I looked it up and it’s true, though it was later blamed on an arsonist. This means that Stiles was either the cause of the attacks or there to stop it.”

“Or just trying to unnerve you.” Damon added. “Either way, he knows things, and that’s bad.”

Suddenly, the doorbell rang.

 

_This is a bad idea_. Was all Stiles could think to himself as he rang the doorbell. _This is such a bad idea_. Beside him, Caroline squirmed nervously.

“Thanks for dropping me off, Stiles.” she said gratefully.

“It’s no problem.” Stiles murmured.

“Gah, I’m just so nervous!”

The door creaked open, and Stiles was face-to-face with Stefan Salvatore.

“Stiles.” Stefan said, not the least bit surprised to see him here. “Now’s not a very good time.”

“Nonsense!” said a voice behind Stefan. Damon Salvatore waltzed up to the doorway with a winning smile. “Hey Caroline.” he said flirtatiously, waggling his fingers at his date. Caroline blushed.

“Anyways, Stiles,” Damon continued, in a false cheeriness that put Stiles on edge, “I’ve been dying to meet you. Frankly, Caroline won’t shut up about you! Please, come in!”

“What about your date?” Stiles asked dryly.

“She won’t mind waiting out here for a couple minutes, right Caroline?”

“Nope.” Caroline said with a shake of her head. Damon smiled victoriously and held the door open wider for Stiles. _I am Daniel, and I am walking into the lion’s den._

The door closed behind Stiles. He turned and saw Stefan and Damon standing between him and the door, although Stefan looked reluctant.

“So,” Damon said in a more serious tone, the grin on his face stretched taught. “Let’s start with your name. What the hell kind of name is Stiles?”

“I’m Caroline’s surrogate brother.” Stiles said while crossing his arms. “Shouldn’t I be interrogating you?”

“I have other methods of persuasion.” Damon said ominously. “But I thought that we’d do this on your terms first.”

“Stiles, please, just answer the question.” Stefan said from behind his brother. “I can’t stop him if he wants to hurt you.”

Stiles’ hunter instincts kicked in. _Act scared. Use this to your advantage. You can’t kill them until you know for sure that they’re vampires._

“Well since you asked so nicely.” Stiles said with a false nervous laugh. It did the trick. Damon grinned triumphantly. “My first name is unpronounceable. My last name is Stilinski. So everyone just calls me Stiles.”

“Why are you here, Stiles?” Damon asked.

“I was just dropping off Caroline. It was you who turned this into an interrogation.”

Damon smiled at that. “Why are you in Mystic Falls?” he clarified.

“To go to school.” _There. Not a total lie._

“Hm.” Damon said thoughtfully. Then, so fast that Stiles barely caught it, he grabbed Stiles around the throat and pinned him to the wall, with his feet off of the ground and applying just enough pressure to make breathing a little difficult.

“Damon!” Stefan yelled at his older brother, rushing over. “Put him down!”

“Relax!” Damon said, his voice never losing it’s cheer. “I’m not going to kill him. Yet.”

The causal way he said this made Stiles’ blood churn. He could breathe, but that didn’t stop him from mentally freaking out. Something along the lines of: _He’s going to kill me, oh god, he’s going to kill me!_ Stiles reached for Damon’s hands, trying to pull them off of his neck, but Damon’s grip was iron tight.

“Let’s try this again!” Damon said, raising his voice over Stiles’ thrashing. He looked Stiles dead in the eyes, pupils dilated. “Stop struggling.” Stiles stopped, not because Damon told him to, but because one terrible thought flashed across his whirring mind.

_Do vampires have mind control?_

If that were true, then why didn’t Sam and Dean know? And why didn’t it work on him? But the way Damon had said it, so sure that he would stop. Stiles would just have to play along.

“Why are you in Mystic Falls?” Damon asked. Stefan sighed in disapproval but did nothing.

“My dad sent me away because of the animal attacks at home.” Stiles said, careful to keep his voice as toneless as possible. Meanwhile, his hand reached for the knife in his pocket.

“What kind of animal was it?”

“A mountain lion.”

“Stefan said your friend got attacked. Is that true?”

“Yes.”

“Is he human?”

“Yes.”

“Are you?”

“Yes.” Stiles answered, but his brain was confused. Why would they think he wasn’t human? Surely if they were vampires they would be able to smell his blood.

“Who did you come to town with?”

“My brothers.”

“Where are they?”

“They left.”

“What are they?”

“Mechanics.” Stiles replied. His hand closed around the knife in his pocket. Then, before he could think twice, he stabbed him in the hand. Damon swore and dropped him. Stiles landed on his feet and held out his knife in front of him defensively.

Damon laughed. “You’re good, I’ll give you that. You almost had me fooled. Until I saw that.” Damon said, his eyes landing on Stiles’ silver bracelet. “You’re lucky I can’t touch that.”

“You’re a hunter.” Stefan said. It wasn’t a question.

“And you’re vampires.” Stiles replied. Stefan balked, but Damon didn’t even bat an eye.

“Well done.” Damon said sarcastically. “What gave us away? Was it the dropping bodies or the fangs?” Suddenly, his eyes turned red, while dark purple fangs ran out of his eyes. He opened his mouth to reveal our sharp fangs.

Stiles jumped back in alarm. He had never seen a vampire before, but he had seen drawings in John Winchester’s journal. They had a whole set of fangs, and they sure as hell looked nothing like _this_. Slowly, he unsheathed his machete from the inside of his sweatshirt.

“That’s nice.” Damon said, his face returning back to normal. “But it’s not going to do you much good.”

“It will if I cut your head off.” Stiles whispered. But inside, he balked. These were clearly different vampires. Would that even work? “Besides, you won’t kill me.”

“No?” Damon asked. “Why not?”

“Because you don’t know who I’m working with.” Stiles said smugly.

Realization dawned on Stefan’s face. “Your brothers. Damon, if we kill Stiles, then they’ll come back.”

“And they’re a force to be reckoned with.” Stiles said with a smile.

“Oh, really?” Damon sneered. “Why?”

“Why did you think I was a vampire? Surely your senses are better than that?”

“It was complicated.” Stefan said, stepping forward to defuse his brother, now that it was establish that no one was dying. “You smelled human, but there was also this faint feeling-”

“-like death.” Damon finished, the smug smile off of his face.

“Yeah, that would be because of my brothers.” Stiles said simply. “They’ve died a lot.”

“They aren’t vampires?” Stefan asked, while realization began to dawn on Damon’s face.

“Uh-oh.”

“No,” Stiles said, answering Stefan’s question. “They’re Winchesters.”


	6. Right and Wrong

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, readers. In this chapter, Stiles deals with the consequences of his big reveal in chapter 5. It still kind of follows season 1. Enjoy!

Ch. 6

Right and Wrong

Stiles was thrown out of the Salvatore boarding house with a smile on his face.

“Finally!” Caroline exclaimed as she saw Damon. “I’ve been waiting out here forever!”

“Sure!” Stiles said with a groan from the ground. “Just ignore me, on the floor, suffering.”

“Get out of here, Stiles.” Stefan said. “Before Damon changes his mind.”

“C’mon, blondie.” Damon said, taking Caroline’s hand and walking past Stiles. “Let’s go.” They walked over to Damon’s blue convertible and drove away. Stefan waited until Damon was out of sight before picking Stiles up by the scruff of his neck and placing him on his feet.

“Thanks.” Stiles said.

Stefan merely shrugged. “I’m sorry about Damon. Look, Stiles, I don’t want any trouble.”

“I don’t either.” Stiles replied. Where was Stefan going with this?

“You should know that I don’t feed on people.”

“Is this you begging for your life?” Stiles asked.

“No.” Stefan said grimly. “This is me telling you to pick your battles. I don’t like hunters, but I don’t want to see you dead. What you did today was stupid, and if I weren’t there, Damon would have killed you.”

“Yeah, well, I’m still a hunter, and you’re still a vampire.” Stiles said with a groan, stretching his muscles. Damon had a mean throw.

“I’m a vampire who’s offering a deal.” This made Stiles stop in place.

“What kind of deal?” he asked with trepidation.

“Help me find out what Damon’s been up to.” Stefan said firmly. “And then help me kill

him.”

Stiles considered this for a moment.

“Look,” Stefan said, “you can’t face him alone or you’ll get slaughtered. He’s the one who’s been killing people. And I want him dead just as much as you.”

“You’d kill your own brother?” Stiles asked.

“He’s not my brother, not anymore. He’s a monster.”

“No argument here.” Stiles muttered. “We have a deal.” He reached out his hand. Stefan immediately shook it.

“Why does this feel like making a deal with the devil?” Stiles asked with a laugh.

“It feels like that for me too.” Stefan replied with a grin. “Hey, can I ask you something?”

“Sure.” Stiles said lightheartedly.

“Your brothers, is it true they killed a vampire with a gun?”

“Yep.” Stiles said proudly. Stefan sighed before continuing.

“You told a lot of lies back there.” He inclined his head to the interior of his house. “Your friend who got bitten, cause I’m assuming that’s true,” Stiles nodded. “He isn’t human, is he?” Stiles shook his head. “Is he dead?”

“No.”

“What is he?”

“A werewolf.” Stefan took a step back.

“That’s impossible. Werewolfs can’t be turned. They have to trigger the family curse.” Stefan said, confused.

“Actually,” Stiles said, “Scott’s never killed anyone. Ever. Different kind of vampires,” he gestured to Stefan, “different kinds of werewolves.”

“Yeah, about that.” Stefan said. “Beheading will work on us, so will fire, but the most effective way to kill us is a stake in the heart.”

“Unbelievable.” Stiles murmured.

“Also, that bracelet.” Stefan said, pointing to Stiles’ silver band, “I don’t know where you got it, but it’s laced with vervain. It’s an herb that’s poisonous to us. It’s why he couldn’t compel you. Here.” He tossed Stiles a cloth. Inside were a pair of earrings. “Those have vervain in them. Give them to Caroline. I’ll take care of the rest of your friends. They won’t undo what’s already been done to her, but they’ll be able to stop Damon from hurting her further.”

“Thanks, Stefan.” Stiles said sincerely as he pocketed the earrings. “I mean it.”

“It’s no problem. I’ll see you at school tomorrow.” Stefan said, turning to go back into his house.

“Yeah, see ya.”

 

“Oh, I can’t take these!” Caroline said as Stiles offered her the earrings when she got home from her date with Damon.

“Please, they’re from my dad. I insist.” Stiles said as he handed her the silver studs.”

“Well, they would go with everything.” Caroline said with a sigh. “Okay!” She took the earrings from Stiles’ hand and put them in her ears. “I’ll never take them off!”

Stiles merely smiled. Then, he and Caroline went to their separate rooms, and he once again tried calling his brothers.

_Ring...ring...ring...“It’s Sam. Leave a message.” *BEEP*_

_Ring...ring...ring... “This is Dean’s cell phone. Leave your name, number, and nightmare at the tone. *BEEP*_

Stiles let out a frustrated groan. Then he tried one more number.

_Ring...ring...ring... “This is Dean’s other, other cell, so you must know what to do.” *BEEP*_

Stiles threw his phone onto his bed in frustration. Voicemail. Just like yesterday, just like ever since his brothers left. He was alone, and look what he was reduced to. Making deals with vampires.

 

The next day before school, Stiles was cornered by Bonnie and Stefan. It was an unlikely duo, and Stiles could see on their faces that they hadn’t planned this.

“Stiles,” Bonnie asked, looking at Stefan with trepidation “Can I talk to you?”

“You know, I’ll catch you later, Stiles.” Stefan said kindly, and Stiles began to dread whatever Stefan had to say.

“What’s up, Bonnie?” Stiles said calmly as he eyed Stefan’s retreating back.

“Did you get the bracelet?” Bonnie asked.

“Yes, I did!” Stiles said gratefully, holding up his wrist to show it glinting in the sunlight.

“Good!” Bonnie said with a radiant smile. “I talked to my grams. She showed me a few spells.” She gestured furtively over to a nearby table. Stiles sat down, while Bonnie grabbed some dirt from the ground. She spread it out on the table and looked around to see if anyone was watching. Satisfied, she put her hand over the dirt, flat, and moved it upward. As she did, pieces of the dirt went with it, hanging in the air like dust.

“Woah.” Stiles whispered with amazement. He had seen witch magic before, but that usually involved the spilling of blood. This was amazing. Simple, yet beautiful.

Bonnie let the dirt fall back on the table before sweeping it onto the ground. “Grams says we can trust you.” Bonnie said after shaking her hands clean. “But I want to know how you knew. Most people would think I was crazy if I told them I was a witch.” Stiles sighed. His cover had already been blown once. What harm would it be telling someone else? Bonnie’s grandma would have put her on vervain, and witches could surely protect themselves.

“Bonnie,” Stiles said carefully, knowing that his wording would have to be crucial, “the first thing you need to know is that I’m not going to hurt you.” Bonnie nodded, looking unsure of where the conversation was headed. “I’m from Beacon Hills, California. You know that.” Bonnie nodded again. “I moved here, and I’m 17. I have two older half-brothers named Sam and Dean Winchester. My dad is the sheriff of Beacon Hills, and he knows Liz Forbes.”

“Okay.” Bonnie said evenly, though her eyes were unsure.

“That’s everything that’s true. The rest is a lie.” Bonnie jumped back, startled. “Let me explain!” Stiles said hurriedly. “My dad’s last name is Stilinski. But he isn’t my biological father. Sam and Dean’s dad is. My real name is Stiles Winchester.” Bonnie nodded, looking a little less freaked out. “I left Beacon Hills, but I have every intention of going back. My brothers move around a lot because of their...line of work.”

“They aren’t mechanics, are they.”

“No.” Stiles replied. “Bonnie, your magic can’t be explained by the regular rules of the universe. There are other things out there besides witches. Other, more lethal things. My brothers hunt them. _We_ hunt them.”

“The animal attacks.” Bonnie replied a little shakily. “I-I looked up Beacon Hills. It had a lot of animal attacks, just like here. Is it the same thing?”

“No.” Stiles said firmly. “Beacon hills wasn’t nearly as bad. And it’s under control. I wasn’t hunting, there, it was just bad luck I lived there.”

“What is it?” Bonnie asked tentatively.

“Vampires.” Stiles replied.

“As in more than one?” Bonnie screeched. Stiles nodded. Bonnie studied Stiles closely. “You know who they are.” Stiles nodded again.

“I’m not going to tell you.” Stiles said. “Not until you’re sure you want to know. Talk to your grandmother. Tell her I know who they are.” Bonnie nodded.

“Thanks Stiles.” she said, and got up from the table. “I mean it. Thanks for telling me the truth. I hope we can still be friends.”

Stiles grinned. “I’d like that.” Bonnie smiled back and began to walk away. “Bonnie, be careful!” Stiles said. She nodded and went off to history. Stiles heard the warning bell ring, so he got up and picked up his stuff before hurrying to class.

 

Stiles bolted from his ninth period class to his jeep. Matt had offered to hang out later at the Grill with Tyler before the football game, and Stiles had politely declined. Stiles was out the door, parking lot in sight, thinking he was in the clear, when a voice behind him made him stop.

“Stiles.”

It was Stefan. Stiles turned around a bit reluctantly and faced the vampire.

“Stefan!’ Stiles said with mock enthusiasm. “Hey! I was just- I wasn’t ditching you or anything.”

“Stiles, we need to talk.” Stefan said seriously.

“Of course we do.”

“Not now. Later. You need to know that I gave Elena a necklace with vervain in it. I’ll watch out for her, and her friends, but I need you to get through to Caroline. She and Damon came by Elena’s house last night, and he’s feeding off of her and compelling her.”

“I guessed that, from the scarf.” Stiles replied. Stefan nodded grimly.

“Come to the game tonight. He’s going to make his move, I don’t know when. Don’t bring stakes, though. I don’t want to kill him until I know what he’s really in town for.”

“You don’t think he’s going to kill me?” Stiles asked. “I’m a scrawny hunter, and with no wooden stakes sarcasm will be my only defense!”

“He doesn’t know we’ve teamed up.” Was Stefan’s only reply. Then, he walked away. Stiles was left pondering all the things that could go wrong at the game.

 

He was right. Things did go wrong. _Majorly wrong_. Coach Tanner was dead. Killed by Damon, if Stefan was to be trusted. Everything had started out fine. Stiles had gone to the Grill and met up with Tyler and Matt, but then a fight broke out between Tyler and Jeremy. Stiles and Matt had broken it up, and decided it was time to head over to the game. At the game, Coach Tanner had given a speech worthy of Finstock, and Stiles had become a little homesick for lacrosse. There was hype, there was school spirit, Stiles saw Damon lurking in the shadows, and then the coach was dead.

Stiles stood at the police scene, amazed. He had been here before, too many times for it to be healthy. The flashing blue and red lights, the confused bystanders, the crying civilians, none of it was knew. Except this time, he felt guilty. It was his fault. He was playing games, when he knew the threat and he knew how to take them out. His brothers would be ashamed of him. Sam and Dean would have killed the vampires by now, and what was Stiles doing? He had made a deal with a demon, and he should have known better.

“Stiles!” Bonnie said in front of him, tears streaming down her face.

“Bonnie!” Stiles yelped, surprised to see her so upset. He pulled her into a reassuring hug. “Stiles, I knew this was going to happen.”

“What are you talking about?” Stiles asked, rubbing her back soothingly as she sobbed. She really was a lot like Lydia. High strung upon first impression, but brilliant and kindhearted.

“The numbers!” Bonnie choked out. “All day I kept seeing the numbers 8, 14 and 22. Look around you.” Stiles looked and saw 8 on a sign, 14 on a license plate, and 22 on a parking spot. He shivered.

“Bonnie, look at me.” he said, breaking their hug and cupping his hands around her tear stained face. “This is not your fault. You didn’t know what was going to happen. My friend Lydia, do you remember her?” Bonnie nodded. “She finds bodies. She senses death. But she doesn’t cause it.” Over Bonnie’s head, Stiles saw Stefan talking with Elena by her car. His blood boiled, but he tried to hide it as he reassured Bonnie. “I am going to find who did this, and they are going to pay. But Bonnie, this isn’t on you.” Bonnie nodded again, and while she was still crying, she looked a great less deal upset. “I’m going to go now. Will you be okay?”

“Yeah.” Bonnie said with a sniff. “I’ll be fine.” Stiles nodded and took off. He ran to the other side of the parking lot as Elena’s car was pulling away. Stefan was standing there alone.

“Stefan!” Stiles shouted, not caring who would hear him. Now he was far enough from the scene that no one else could. He ran up to the vampire, looking murderous.

“Stiles.” Stefan said calmly, his hands raised in a gesture of goodwill. “Look, I can explain.”

“I’m sure you can.” Stiles spat venomously. “It’s all Damon’s fault. I’m the victim. I mean no harm. I’m innocent. Am I close?”

Reluctantly, Stefan nodded. “I was there.” he admitted. “I saw Damon kill him. I couldn’t stop him because-”

“-because then you couldn’t find out what he’s planning.” Stiles said cruely. “Well guess what? I don’t care. It’s pretty clear to me that whatever intricate master plan he has is bad, and he needs to be stopped.” Stiles said fiercely.

“You can’t stop him.” Stefan said firmly.

“Watch me.”

“Look, Stiles-” Stefan began, but Stiles interrupted him.

“No, you look Stefan.” he said cooly. “You may be content to play games with your brother, but I’m not. People are dying. While you might not value human lives if they aren’t your friends, I do. I’m not content with letting this town wither away while you procrastinate doing the right thing. Look, I get that he’s your brother, and that sucks, but some things can’t be saved. I know innocent creatures. I know who’s worth saving. Your brother is not. Neither are you.” Stefan took a step back, surprised. “So you don’t have to worry about missing your brother cause I’m going to kill you too.”

There was no heat in Stiles’ words by the time he finished talking. His anger had worn away, replaced by frigid resolve. He was speaking rationally, and he knew that Stefan knew it too.

“Stiles, I’m trying to redeem myself.” Stefan said quietly.

“Oh really?” Stiles asked incredulously. “And you really think _that_ ,” he gestured in the direction Elena’s car went in “is going to end well? You’re putting her and her friends in danger, Stefan. She’s going to die. It’s just up to you whether or not she’s damned for eternity.”

Stefan stared at Stiles with empty eyes. “I’ll protect her.” he said, but he looked lost.

Stiles shook his head. “I thought the same thing about Scott. Lydia. Isaac. Boyd. Erica. Allison. Danny. Hell, even Jackson. But no. They all got hurt, and the ones that aren’t werewolves are definitely worse for the wear. If I can’t protect Beacon Hills, what makes you think you can protect Mystic Falls?”

Stefan didn’t reply. He merely walked away.

Stiles, however, was deep in thought. His words and resonated with himself, and he hadn’t even realized until he had spoken aloud that they were true. Stiles had failed Beacon Hills, and now, all by himself, he would fail Mystic Falls. Stiles pulled out his phone. He was tempted, now more than ever, to just call Scott and tell him the truth. But that wouldn’t help him solve the vampire problem. Instead, he called Bonnie.

“Hello?” she said, sounding a little worn down.

“It’s Stiles. Meet me at Caroline’s. It’s important.”


	7. Run Right Back

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Here's another update! It's a little shorter than usual, I apologize, but the next chapter should be up in a fewdays. Also make sure to check out this story's sequel, 'Blood on my Name,' and enjoy!

Ch. 7

Run Right Back

Stiles opened the door to his new house to find Caroline waiting for him, tears streaming down her face.

“Stiles!” She exclaimed, throwing her arms around his neck. “Oh my god! Stiles!”

“Woah, Caroline, it’s alright!” Stiles said, surprised. “It’s fine. The attack’s over.”

“What attack?” Caroline asked, bleary eyed. “Did I miss something? I-I left. I was just so _scared_ -”

“Caroline,” Stiles asked, careful to keep his voice quiet and even, “what happened?”

“I- I- I” It took Caroline a moment to regain her composure enough to speak. “I was at the game. With Damon. I- We were kissing. And then he just kind of stopped, and when I asked why- he- his _face_ -” Caroline shuddered, and Stiles knew what she saw. Black lines, dark eyes, fangs. “He bit my neck. And it hurt! I- was so shocked, I couldn’t scream. Then he stopped, and, his face was covered with my blood, and then- oh god- he looked at me, his pupils dilated weirdly, and he told me to forget it and go home. Then he left! I- I went home! I didn’t know what else to do! I’ve been waiting for you! Stiles, what happened to me?”

Caroline was near crying again, so Stiles sat her down at the couch in their living room. He looked at where her neck connected to her shoulder. There were four shallow teeth marks. It would heal quickly. Stiles ran to the bathroom and grabbed a wet towel to clean the blood off her shoulder while Caroline looked at him bleary-eyed.

“Caroline,” Stiles said when her shoulder was clean. “do you trust me?”

Slowly, Caroline nodded.

“Damon is a vampire.” Caroline started sobbing again. “He was feeding off of you, Caroline.” Stiles continued over her rattling sobs. “He was using mind control to make you forget. Those earrings I gave you had an herb in them, vervain, that broke his hold over you. I can help you, Caroline, but you need to believe me.”

Caroline stopped crying and took a shuddering breath. “I believe you.” She whispered. “I just don’t see how I couldn’t have known. I mean, his face-”

She was cut off by the sharp sound of the doorbell. “That’ll be Bonnie.” Stiles said, rushing to the door and throwing it open. Sure enough, Bonnie stood there with her arms crossed.

“What’s going on?” She asked, looking a little alarmed. Instead of answering, Stiles ushered her into the house, and she took a seat next to Caroline on the couch. She took in Carolines tears and gave Stiles a questioning look.

Stiles took a deep breath. “You wanted to know who the vampires were.” Bonnie nodded. “Caroline, do you want to tell her or should I?”

“Wait, how does she know?” Caroline asked Stiles, pointing to Bonnie. “And how do you?”

“Short version? Bonnie’s a witch and I come from a family of supernatural hunters.”

Caroline blinked a few times. “Okay.” She was regaining her composure now, straightening up and wiping her face. She turned to Bonnie. “My boyfriend, Damon, he attacked me tonight. Stiles said he’s a vampire.”

Bonnie’s eyes widened to saucers. “And Stefan?” she asked. Stiles nodded. “Oh my god. I knew something was off about him, but then Elena-” Bonnie began to panic. “Does she know?”

“I don’t know.” Stiles admitted. “It shouldn’t take long for her to figure out, though.”

“We have to tell her!” Caroline wailed, half hysterical.

“Stefan and I had a deal.” Stiles regretfully admitted. “He would help me kill Damon, and it wasn’t spoken, but I think he wanted me to stay away from her. As if _that_ will end well...”

“She has to know!” Bonnie said. “If she falls for him... one way or another she’s going to die.”

“I know. Stefan broke whatever understanding we had when Coach Tanner was killed tonight. His screwed up love story is not worth the lives of this town.” Stiles said with steely resolution

“Damon killed Tanner?” Bonnie asked. Stiles nodded.

“Call Elena. Get her over here.” Bonnie nodded and went to make the call. Caroline, looking pretty okay despite having the world shift under her feet, dried her eyes and turned to Stiles, all business.

“She’s a witch and you’re a vampire hunter?” She asked, eyes flashing.

Stiles gulped. “Ah, yeah. About that...”

 

By the time Elena arrived at Caroline’s, the girl in question had seen Bonnie perform a light spell and heard Stiles explain his heritage. Stiles was impressed with her strength. Not only did she not run screaming from the room, she had several questions.

“Vervain hurts them and wooden stakes kill them?” The gleam in Caroline’s eyes was kind of scary. She clearly wanted revenge for being used by Damon.

“Yep.” Stiles said simply.

“But these aren’t the kind you normally hunt.”

“My brothers, and no. They don’t have to die. Their blood turns instantly instead of healing. They die by decapitation.” Stiles answered. Caroline opened her mouth and was about to spout another interrogation when the doorbell rang, silencing her.

“I’ll get it!” Bonnie yelled, already halfway to the door.

“You are telling me about the werewolves later.” Caroline told Stiles sternly. Inwardly, Stiles groaned. What had he gotten himself in to?

“Hey Caroline!” Elena greeted warmly as she entered the room, still in her black jacket. “Stiles!” She added, surprised to see him, still not used to the odd living arrangements.

“Elena.” Stiles said with a curt nod. He reserved his hugs for people who didn’t unknowingly fall in love with deadly vampires. And Lydia.

“What’s up?” Elena inquired, taking off her coat and sitting down. “Bonnie said it was urgent?”

Caroline looked at her friend reproachfully. Bonnie shot a nervous look at Stiles, who had migrated to the floor and was absent-mindedly tracing symbols into the carpet. He gestured for Caroline to continue.

“Elena...” Caroline began, “there’s something you need to know about Stefan.”

Before she could continue, Elena collapsed backwards on the couch with a groan. “Oh, I knew it!” She lamented. “I knew there was something up about him. I mean, the guy who saw him in 1953, and the names on the founder’s lists, and his creepy brother...” At the mention of Damon, Caroline flinched. “What is it?” She finally asked, sitting up straight and flopping her hands around anxiously.

Caroline glanced sideways at Bonnie before continuing. “He’s a vampire.”

Elena stared at Caroline for a second before whipping her head around to Bonnie. “First you’re a witch and now Stefan’s a vampire?”

“You told her?” Stiles asked Bonnie, surprised.

“Well, yeah.” Bonnie had the decency to look guilty.

“Guys!” Elena said, throwing her arms out to silence them. “Stop. It doesn’t matter. I don’t care.”

_No way._ Stiles thought to himself. _Please don’t tell me she’s not about to say what I think she is._

“I don’t care that he’s a vampire.” Elena finished.

“Oh god no!” Stiles groaned. “Elena, come on! Do you know how many people he’s killed? Cause I don’t! But I’m sure it’s a lot!”

Elena grimaced, but held her ground. “That doesn’t matter. What I feel for him is real.”

“Elena!” Bonnie reprimanded. “You don’t know anything about him! For God’s sakes, his brother killed Coach Tanner tonight!”

“That was his brother!” Elena said indignantly. “That wasn’t him!”

Caroline interjected, and unlike her friends’ slowly escalating voices, hers was quiet. “Damon used me. He fed on me, compelled me to be his girlfriend. Elena, how do you know that that isn’t you?”

Elena stood still. “What?” She whispered. Stiles took the opportunity to walk up to her.

“Elena, can I see your necklace?” He asked kindly. Dazed, she nodded. She reached behind her head and undid the silver clasp, before pouring a stream of silver into Stiles’ outstretched hand. Stiles examined the necklace in his hands. He turned it over and over, sniffed it, and handed it back to Elena. “She has vervain. She hasn’t been compelled.”

“See guys?” Elena implored, way too casual. She ran to the doorway and grabbed her coat. “I’m going to see Stefan.”

“Elena, Wait!” Stiles yelled, rushing to the door.

“No, Stiles! Look I don’t know how you know this, but it’s clear you’re a threat to Stefan. Let me talk to him! We can work something else!” Elena looked frantic, her calm composure was breaking. It was clear she was more freaked out than she was letting on.

“Stefan and I had a deal.” Stiles muttered. “It ended when Damon killed Tanner.” Elena shook her head frantically, tears in her eyes. She opened the door and slammed it behind her.

 

“Well now what?” Caroline asked indignantly, fully recovered from her crying jag earlier.

“I have an idea.” Stiles began tentatively, pacing in front of the fireplace while Bonnie and Caroline sat on the couch in front of him. “You’re not going to like it.”

“What?” Caroline asked. Bonnie leaned forward, curious.

“You’re going to have to act like nothing happened. Don’t break up with Damon. If he suspects you, he’ll kill you.”

Caroline smiled. “I get to go undercover. Don’t worry Stiles,” she said in response to the worried look on his face. “I know how to act like a dumb blonde.”

Stiles yawned. “I’ll probably have to teach you two how to hunt.” He murmured exhaustedly.

“I’ll ask grams to teach me a few tricks.” Bonnie said in agreement. She, too, yawned, and began to make her way to the door.

“One more thing, Caroline.” Stiles added as his makeshift sister was about to retreat to her bedroom.

“Yeah?”

“Keep an eye on your mom. My brothers, Sam and Dean, were under the impression the townspeople know more about these attacks than they let on.” Caroline nodded, all traces of her crying gone, replaced by sheer determination. As much as Stiles was loathe to admit it, she’d make a great hunter.

“Bye guys!” Bonnie said with a wave as she exited the Forbes house. Three doors slammed from exhaustion. Caroline and Stiles retreated to their respective rooms. Stiles called his brothers, got voicemail. He collapsed on his bed, thinking of how much Caroline and Bonnie reminded him of his friends. He had shaped his friends to be warriors, back in Beacon Hills. Sure, they were unaware of his involvement, taking his suggestions like he was a scared kid as new to this as the rest of him, and for the most part things turned out okay. Until they hadn’t. But now he could be frank with who he was. He could protect all of his new friends without keeping secrets! Everything would turn out fine. Still, the old families, the attacks, the human connections, it was all too familiar. Stiles’ last conscious thought was this. _Haven’t I been through this before?_ What would that mean for his future?


	8. Georgia

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Happy Hogwarts Day! So here's another chapter, and the sequel/precursor to this story just finished, (Blood on my Name, part 1 of this series,) so be sure to check that out. Enjoy!

Ch. 8

Georgia

The next day, Stefan wasn’t at school. Stiles would have totally been cool with that were it not for the fact that Elena wasn’t there either.

“Hey!” Stiles hissed at Matt, waking him up from his daze in history. “Where are Stefan and Elena?”

“No Idea.” Matt mumbled, but he already looked more awake, casting his eyes around warily. “I’ll let you know if I see them.” Stiles nodded, but couldn’t calm his frantic heartbeat. He took a deep breath to calm himself down... _It isn’t your fault. Elena made her own decision, and Stefan wouldn’t kill her. Would he?_ Stiles took another deep breath and tried to focus on Dutch colonization of New York, which was led by a horrible temporary sub since Coach Tanner was, well, dead. At this memory, Stiles took yet another deep breath. And another. And another... for the rest of the school day.

“I’m going to go over to Grams’ house.” Bonnie said as she walked with Stiles to their respective cars. “She’s going to teach me some spells. Want to come?” Stiles shook his head.

“Nah, I’m going to start working with Caroline, then I’ll swing by Elena’s to make sure she’s okay.” Stiles said, gesturing to the quirky blond leaning against his blue jeep.

Bonnie waved farewell as Caroline got up from her reclined position and opened the passenger door. Stiles hurried over to the driver’s seat and started the car. Instead of taking them home, however, Stiles pulled into the local rec center.

“Did you bring your gear?” Stiles asked Caroline as she and Stiles undid their seatbelts.

Caroline proudly held up a drawstring bag. “Yep. Workout clothes, mom’s self defense pads, heart rate monitor.”

“Excellent.” Stiles said appreciatively.

 

One hour later they were sparring in the open dojo, after running some laps and lifting some weights. Both Caroline and Stiles agreed that if they wanted to face off vampires, they needed to build some muscle. At the moment, Caroline and Stiles were in headgear, mouthguards, fistguards and shinguards, circling each other and throwing punches and kicks.

“How did pretending to be Damon’s blood bag go, Caroline?” Stiles asked thickly through his mouthguard as Caroline successfully blocked his jab and reverse punch combo.

“I couldn’t tell you.” Caroline replied, equally as thickly. “He texted me this morning saying he had stuff to do and would see me tomorrow.”

Stiles couldn’t help but wonder if that had anything to do with Stefan and Elena’s absence.

“Bonnie’s going to ask her grams for more vervain.” Caroline continued, throwing a punch to Stiles’ solar plexus followed by a kick to the legs. She was picking up fast, and getting good. Stiles couldn’t wait to see how fierce of a fighter she would be after 1 week. “She’s going to get some for me to drink, so my blood will be poison to Damon.”

“We’ll have to save that for a surprise attack.” Stiles replied, blocking another of Caroline’s hard punches. He sent a sweeping kick at her ankles, which caught her off balance and sent her tumbling to the ground. Good sport that she was, she huffed for about 10 seconds before Stiles extended his hand to help her up. “Have you been trained before?”

“Mom made me take self defense classes.” Caroline replied, dusting herself off. “I think I mentioned that.” She then punched Stiles in the stomach, hard. “We’re even.”

Panting and sweaty, the two made their way back to Stiles’ jeep, high on exercise endorphins.

“Alright, tomorrow we’ll come here first after school, then go into the woods to start weapons.” Stiles said business-like.

“Stiles, today’s Friday.” Caroline said with a laugh.

“First thing in the morning, then.”

The laugh fell off of Caroline’s face.

“Fine.”

 

Later, Caroline and Stiles pulled up to the Grill to meet Bonnie, Tyler, and Matt to hang out. The warm atmosphere instantly welcomed the pair as they made their way over to where the other three were waiting.

“Do you guys have no where else to hang out?” Stiles asked as he slid into his chair at the low table.

“Can it Stilinski. You’re just jealous cause you have nowhere to hang out as cool as this in northern Cali.” Tyler said in his usual lovable fashion. Stiles wrinkled his nose. He could _smell_ the testosterone coming off of him.

“You got me there!” Stiles replied with a weak chuckle. _All I have is Scott’s house, Derek’s loft, Deaton’s clinic, and the old burnt down Hale house._ Stiles waited for the ping of nostalgia to hit him but it never did. None of those places were quite as homey as the Grill, nor did the Grill have the memories of blood and duress embedded in the walls. Oh god. Was Stiles...assimilating?

“Hey, where’s Elena?” Matt asked Bonnie in what he probably thought was a casual fashion. “Did you call her?”

“Yeah, but she hasn’t picked up.” Bonnie replied, furtively shooting Stiles a worried look. Stiles shook his head in a gesture so tiny anyone else would have missed it. Bonnie seemed to relax, knowing Stiles was planning on investigating.

“Matt, how’s Vicki?” Caroline asked brightly. Tyler mumbled darkly into his burger.

“She’s fine, Care, thanks.” Matt said gratefully. “She’ll be fully recovered within the week.” Tyler shot Matt a death look, which Matt ignored, perfectly at ease. “Don’t mind him.” He said in response to Stiles’ inquisitive expression. “He’s just mad because Vicki chose Jeremy over him, and his uncle Mason’s in town.”

“That sucks dude.” Stiles sympathized, familiar with the feeling of being passed over for a total douche, only in this case, Vicky was probably better off. Jeremy didn’t seem that bad. “Why do you hate your uncle?”

“I don’t.” Tyler admitted, shooting Matt a withering look, “He’s just being weird. Hanging around me, trying to give me anger management lessons.”

“You need them.” Caroline murmured as she took a sip of water. Everyone cracked a smile at the table except for Tyler, though his glower looked a little less fierce.

“Yeah, well, I found him in the woods at this old cellar.” Tyler continued. “He said I could use it to throw a party tomorrow! You know, as long as everyone clears out by curfew.”

“Like that’s going to happen.” Matt mumbled into his milkshake.

Stiles’ brain was on high alert. A weird Lockwood cellar? An old relative coming back? Mason was new thing number 5, and 1, 2, 3 and 4 weren’t exactly harmless. He had to meet this guy. Pronto.

“Well c’mon, let’s party!” Stiles said enthusiastically. There was a murmur of assent around the table.

“Alright!” Tyler said enthusiastically. “The woods, tomorrow. Beer’s on you, Stilinski.” Stiles froze, looking pricelessly horrified. “I’m just kidding, man!” Tyler said with a hearty chuckle.

 

One hour later, Stiles and Caroline braced the heavy darkness as they walked from the ambient Grill to the desolate jeep. Caroline wasted no time in getting into the passenger’s seat, and Stiles was about to follow when a sharp ringtone cut through the night air.

“Scott, hey!” Stiles said, phone to the ear, as he got into the car. He gestured to Caroline that they should switch drivers. She obliged, and before long they were on the road.

“Stiles! How’s Virginia!” Scott’s voice came at a great enthusiasm. He seemed completely over the whole lying about being sick thing.

“Well, not as warm as you’d think.” Stiles replied, trying not to cringe at the sight of Caroline driving his beloved jeep. “How’s Beacon Hills?”

“Pretty quiet.” Scott said. _Lucky_. “They’re still looking for more teachers, school’s still not starting till the 21st of September. Lydia’s freaking out, obviously.”

“I never pegged her for an overachiever.” Stiles admitted. “She just seemed to do everything just by achieving.”

“Also, cause tomorrow’s Jackson’s first full moon away from us.” Scott said.

Stiles’ blood froze. Tomorrow was his first full moon in Mystic Falls. But no... this wasn’t Beacon Hills. The creatures here weren’t dependent on the lunar cycle.

He was pretty sure there weren’t werewolves here.

“I forgot.” Stiles said, “You know, since there aren’t any wolves running around.” Caroline looked at him weirdly. _There are things much, much worse._

“Yeah,” Scott agreed. “It’s a good thing wolves are our only problems at the moment. Well, enjoy nice, calm Mystic Falls. Everyone says hi. Except for Derek. Call me if anything changes!”

“Will do, Scotty.” Stiles replied. He hung up on his friend, and tried to dispatch the horrible, sinking feeling in his belly he seems to acquire every time he lies to Scott.

“Was that Scott? The werewolf?” Caroline asked with a concerned glance.

“Yeah.” Stiles admitted.

“And he doesn’t know that you’re a hunter?” Stiles shook his head. “You know what I think?” Caroline asked, then spoke without waiting for a response. “I think you’re desperate to tell your friends who you are. I think that’s why it was so easy for you to trust us.” Stiles opened his mouth to speak, but Caroline kept talking. “Admit it. This town reminds you a lot of Beacon Hills. You fit in right away, you’ve known us for a week but if feels like longer, and I think the reason we let you in is because you’re so familiar.”

There was a beat of silence. The car pulled in to Caroline’s driveway.

“Yeah, I think you’re right.” Stiles said.

They got out of the car in understanding. Stiles reached for the keys, and Caroline tossed them over in a way that reminded Stiles of his brothers.

No, panicking could wait.

“I’m going to go check on Elena.” he said. “Make sure she’s alright.” Caroline nodded and told him how to get there, her serious demeanor gone with her fading remarks.

Stiles pulled out of the driveway, and prayed to Fortuna that his luck would not get worse.

Naturally, he was wrong.

 

Stiles rang the doorbell to Elena’s house with apprehension. He hated visiting people uninvited, ironic considering his occupation, and he fidgeted nervously on the porch. It took a few moments, and several nervous ticks of Stiles’ heart, before the door was answered by a bleary looking Jeremy. It was 9 o'clock at night, too early for a young teenager to be tired, which meant Jeremy was smashed. Awesome.

“He-ey...” Stiles began nervously. “I’m Stiles. I-I’m looking for Elena. She wasn’t in school today and I’m in some of her classes, so....” Stiles shrank under Jeremy’s blank yet hostile gaze “so I thought I’d drop some of her homework off.” Jeremy seemed to relax at this.

“Did Caroline send you?” Jeremy asked hazily.

“Yep!" Stiles replied with gusto, glad to be thrown a lifeline.

“Well, tell her thanks, but I haven’t seen my sister since last night. I figured she was with her friends.” Maybe it was the drugs, but Jeremy did seem to look a little worried.

“I’m sure she is!” Stiles rushed to placate him. “I haven’t checked with Bonnie. She’s probably with her.”

“Yeah,” Jeremy mumbled. “Maybe.” He was about to close the door on Stiles, when something made him pause. “Wait, I know you.” He straightened up as he analyzed Stiles. “You helped look for Vicki when she went missing.”

“Yep, that’s me!” Stiles said nervously.

“Thanks.” Jeremy said, and even though the stupor, Stiles could tell he meant it.

“No problem Druggie.” A pause. “Jeremy. _Jeremy_.” Jeremy cracked a grin before gently closing the door. Scratching it off as a weird encounter, Stiles headed down the porch steps and began to walk to his car when an instinct made him stop. He could see headlights approaching at the end of the street, coming closer with every passing second. Making a split second decision, Stiles dove behind the Gilberts’ bushes as a marvelous blue Camaro drove up to the Gilbert house. Stiles watched through the shrubbery as Elena got out of the car which- _dammit_ \- Damon was driving.

_It’s always the psychos who drive the cool cars_. Stiles thought . His brothers were no exception.

“Thanks for taking me home.” Elena said to Damon a bit timidly.

“Doubtful I wouldn’t kill you?” he retorted playfully. _Yes._ Stiles thought bitterly. _To the point where I’m surprised she isn’t dead._ Stiles cursed himself for only having his silver knife on him. Damon was fast. He might as well be carrying nothing.

“Goodbye, Damon.” Elena said with a degree of finality. Damon drove away as she began to trudge up the steps a little trepidatiously. If she had been gone for 24 hours, then surely her family couldn’t be happy. Although Stiles remembered someone telling him her parents were dead.

Stiles was about to call out when a hand flew over his mouth. Panicking, his hands spastically moved to his pockets for his knife, his phone, anything.

“Don’t even think about it.” Damon muttered in his ear.

Heart hammering, Stiles was paralyzed by fear as he watched Elena fish out her key and open her front door.

“Hey Jer!” she called into the bright foyer.

“Elena, hey. Some dude named Stiles stopped by, friend of Caroline’s. Also Aunt Jenna’s pissed...” The door closed, firmly stopping Jeremy and Elena’s conversation from reaching foreign ears. Damon waited a beat, before aggressively pulling Stiles out of the bushes and away from the house, unfazed by Stiles’ thrashing. His car was parked far away, a few houses from Stiles’ jeep.

When he had reached the convertible, Damon let Stiles go.

“How did you know I was there?” Stiles sputtered.

Damon rolled his eyes. “I could hear your heartbeat, Dumbass.” His anger had no effect on the patronizing tone of his voice.

“What do you want?” Over the initial shock, Stiles struggled to keep his voice even. Based in Damon’s smug smile, it hadn’t worked.

“What do _you_ want, seeing as I found you in the Gilbert’s bushes.”

“Elena wasn’t at school today.” Stiles said, almost calmed down. “I was just seeing if she was okay.”

Damon grinned. “Relax, hunter boy. Elena’s fine. A little shaken, though. See, she got into a car crash last night.” Stiles froze. Damon smirked at Stiles’ uneasiness. “It seems she was a little distraught. You know, people shouldn’t drive when they’re emotional.” He chided. “She flipped her car, my guess is from going 90 mph down an empty road.” Stiles cringed guiltily. If Elena got into an accident from being upset then it was his fault. “Luckily I was in the neighborhood, and I was able to help her out. You know, since I’m a-” he looked over his shoulder with sarcastic unease and mock whispered “vampire.”

Stiles grimaced at Damon’s antics. “If that was last night, then where’s she been all day?” he asked warily.

“Georgia.” Damon replied simply.

Stiles balked. “Georgia?”

“I had to see a friend of mine.” Damon confirmed casually. “And get this.” He held up a bronze chain with a rather large orange crystal on it.

Stiles sighed. “I don’t suppose you’ll tell me why?”

“Well of course.” Damon replied. He looked down the road at Elena’s house, thoughtfully. “Elena told me she knew about me and Stefan, and was remarkably calm about it too. She didn’t say how, but I’m guessing it’s thanks to you.”

“Yeah....” Stiles said hesitantly. Damon sounded sincere when he said he’d explain the necklace, which threw Stiles off. _Is he going to kill me or not_?

“Who else have you told?” Damon asked, joking mood gone, replaced by cold accusation. Stiles gulped. _Vampires can hear heartbeats_. _Luckily, I’ve had plenty of practice lying to werewolves._

“Just Elena.” Damon looked at him in disbelief. “Really. I don’t want my cover blown any more than you do, Damon. She was the one who seemed to be in the most danger.” Stiles put venom in those last two words, and Damon rolled his eyes at the implication. “Obviously, she didn’t take it very well.”

“No she did not.” Damon agreed. “She tried to kill me seven times on the road trip. Of course, once we got back to my house, she ran into Stefan’s arms and gave a nauseating rant about loving him anyways. It was revolting.” Damon grimaced, horrified. “My brother has the worst taste.”

Stiles groaned. _Great. Elena can’t be trusted. She could tell Stefan about Bonnie, Damon about Caroline._ “What’s your point, Damon?”

Damon smiled coldly. “I think we can help eachother out, Stiles. You want me dead, and while I can’t agree with that, I can give you the next best thing. Stefan dead and me out of town. For good.”

Stiles’ heart sank. Another deal with the devil? “I’m listening.”

Damon grinned at Stiles’ obvious reluctance. “Whatever you may think of me, Stiles, I didn’t come back to Mystic Falls to wreak havoc on my brother or drive his girlfriend to Georgia.”

Stiles’ head snapped up, intrigued.

“There’s an old church in the woods, and underneath it is a tomb, full of vampires imprisoned there since I died, 1864.”

“The battle of Willow Creek.” Stiles recalled, a hazy memory of Tanner mentioning it taking form. “27 local casualties in Fell’s Church in 1864.”

Damon nodded. “One of those vampires is my girlfriend, Katherine. I want to bring her back, and then I’m gone.”

“And the other 26 vampires?” Stiles asked incredulously. “You’re just going to release them into the wild?” If a little bit of disgust crept into his voice, so be it.

“They’ll be desiccated.” Damon replied easily. They won’t be able to move. All I need is Bonnie’s help getting into the tomb, and your cooperation. And yes, I know about Bonnie. Her ancestor, Emily, is the one that did the spell.”

“Hm...” Stiles muttered out loud. For a second he actually considered it. Damon was obviously offering to kill Stefan, and then get out of town, but he would be releasing a hungry vampire into the wild, which was bad. Then there was the spell. If it was major, that could hurt Bonnie, and Stiles did not want her doing anything unwillingly. Also, Damon had not mentioned freeing Caroline from her compulsion. Then there was the matter of the 20 people he’d killed when he got to town, and messing around with Elena. There was no way that was anything less than a personal vendetta against his brother, which would only end with everyone hurt but themselves. No, Damon couldn’t be trusted.

“Sorry.” Stiles said. “No dice.” Damon’s face quickly fell from smug eagerness to cruel disappointment. “Here’s my counter. Leave with your brother before I cut your legs off and stab you in the heart.”

Damon scoffed. Stiles, having had enough, turned and began to walk to his jeep in the fateful night.

“You’re making a mistake, Stiles!” Damon taunted to his retreating back. That was a good sign. If Damon was basically begging for help then he was more stuck then he let on. For a moment Stiles worried that Damon would run up to him with his vamp speed and do something drastic, but all was quiet.

“Go back to Georgia!” Stiles shouted over his shoulder. By now he was a block away, but he was sure Damon heard him.


	9. Into The Woods

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Thanks for reading, and the awesome comments. Sorry it's been a while since I updated. If anyone's curious I have a Supernatural story I'm posting now too, called 'One Way Ticket.' Enjoy!

Ch. 9

Into The Woods

Stiles’ training session with Caroline the following morning went amazingly. He kicked, she dodged. He punched, she ducked. _She_ punched and kicked, and Stiles couldn’t get away in time. Eventually he figured it was time to step up their game.

“What are we doing?” Caroline asked, after they had left the gym and were heading towards a forest preserve.

“Getting some wooden stakes.” Stiles replied, scouting for thick fallen tree branches. Luckily, he knew how to make them for hunting the occasional pagan god. They trudged through the woods, and after finding some good branches, he and Caroline found a couple tree stumps to sit on, and with the knives from his gym bag, the two began to whittle. Caroline cut herself once, but other than that the 10 wooden stakes they made were fairly feasible.

 

“I have to talk to you.” Stiles began tentatively once they were back at the house. “It’s about Damon.”

“Yeah?” Caroline asked casually. She had called him minutes ago, all simpering-like, and he was supposed to pick her up for school in 10 minutes. “One thing first- do I look like I got up at 4 am to work out?”

“Nope!” Stiles replied. “But I talked to Damon last night.”

Caroline’s face fell.

“He didn’t mention you, which is weird, but he wanted to make a deal. And don’t say I should take it. The last time I made a deal with a Salvatore, someone died.

Caroline’s brow furrowed, and she was about to reply when a harshly-chiming doorbell signaled the arrival of Damon. She opened the door in a breathless rush, her bubbly persona back in place. Damon was leaning against the doorframe carelessly.

“Ready to go sweetie?” he asked with fake sugar in his voice. He shot Stiles a meaningful look.

“Yep!” Caroline chirped. The two were out the door and on the road before Stiles could raise a finger in protest.

 

“Alright class, my name is Alaric Saltzman. I’ll be your new history teacher.” The burly guy at the board said once Stiles and his friends took their seats.

Matt leaned over his desk. “What do you think?”

“I think attendance will be a nightmare for me.” Stiles replied. “Unpronounceable first name and all that.” Matt chuckled and returned to the lecture the teacher was giving on how exactly to pronounce his name. Stiles was grinning too, but his fell when he saw Stefan’s ear inclined ever so slightly towards Stiles’ desk. He was listening.

“Your brother told me why he was in town.” Stiles muttered, quiet enough for Matt not to hear, but just loud enough that Stefan couldn’t miss it. Just as he expected Stefan tensed, and he was about the whirl around in frustration when the teacher called attendance.

“Bonnie Bennet?”

“Here.” She looked tired but well. She caught Stiles’ eye and inclined her head, indicating they would talk later.

“Matt Donovan?”

“Here, sir.” Matt replied. He also looked tired, probably from caring for his sister.

“Caroline Forbes?”

Silence.

Bonnie and Stiles made eye contact and Stefan stiffened in his chair. _No, no, Damon didn’t mention her...what if he KNOWS? What if this is some sick idea of a trade off? What if Caroline’s..._

“Alright, no Miss Forbes.” The sub continued, not noticing anything amiss. “Elena Gilbert?”

“Here.” Came the small, wounded reply. Elena wasn’t looking at Bonnie, or Matt, or Stefan, or Tyler or Stiles. Her eyes were glued firmly on her desk, the ghost of tears present on her face. She was, for lack of a better term, a wreck. _I should talk to her later._ Stiles thought, even though I really don’t want to. From his conversation with Damon last night, Stiles figured that Elena was somehow caught up in the middle of the Salvatore feud. Anyone in that situation was best to stay away from, but she was in danger, meaning Stiles had to get involved. He just wished it was someone more...interesting. Like Lydia.

A wave of homesickness washed over Stiles, until he formed a cloud in his mind, doodling protective symbols in his notebook with fervor. He was so immersed in his thoughts of home, he completely tuned out the rest of attendance. Until...

“Congratulations, Mr. Stilinski.”

Stiles snapped up from his daze to find the new teacher, as well as his entire class, look at him expectantly. The teacher held the attendance list in his hand, looking amused.

“Uh....” Stiles stammered, face turning red. “For what?”

Mr. Saltzman chuckled. “For having a worse name than me.” He peered at the list. “How do you even pronounce that?”

“I’d...I’d rather not.” Stiles replied, embarrassed. “You can just call me Stiles.”

“Okay, Stiles.” His casualness was cool, but Stiles was hesitant to like him. Then, Mr. Saltzman spoke to the rest of the class. “Be warned, it may take some time for me to remember all those names. In the mean time, did your teacher get to the hero of Jamestown, John Smith?” The class shook their heads. “Okay. Well he was sent over from England to help the dying colony...”

As Stiles left class 40 minutes later, amidst the worry for Caroline, all he could think was _new thing number 6._

 

Tyler Lockwood’s party was in full swing by the time Stiles saw Caroline again. But that came later. Stiles was struck in awe by how many of his classmates were there. More specifically, _all_ of them. At five points in the evening he was cornered by people he didn’t know, all drunk enough to think he was someone else.

As everybody danced to someone’s portable stereo, Stiles searched through the haze. He found Bonnie, looking guilty, Stefan and Elena, looking decidedly unhappy, Matt, flirting with a pretty Indian girl named Aimee, Tyler, being...Tyler, Jeremy and Vicki, being gross, and finally, Caroline, dancing to the music with Damon.

“Hey!” Stiles said as he marched up to the couple, keeping up appearances by looking slightly panicked. “Can I talk to you?” He looked at Caroline pointedly.

“Um... sure.” Caroline said, but Damon’s arm held her back.

“Talk to me.” he said with a forceful smirk. Stiles gulped.

“Alright.” The moment Caroline was out of earshot, he was up in Damon’s face. “Don’t you touch her!”

“Stiles, I owe you nothing, and as you probably figured out, she’s compelled. She’s perfectly happy, unaware of what’s going on... and it’ll stay that way as long as she doesn’t find out, alright?”

Stiles nodded glumly. Damon’s simpering voice was sickening. “Good.” he said with a decidedly evil grin. “I love her earrings. I wonder where she got them.”

“No, Damon-” Stiles stammered but there was a whoosh, and both he and Caroline were out of his sight.

 

“Hey, buddy,” Tyler came up to him as Stiles as frantically searching the woods, “you all right?” He was slurring a little, the evidence being the near-empty red cup in his hand.

“Yeah,” Stiles replied distractedly, seeing right through Tyler and to the trees behind him. That is until a cloud parted, and moonlight washed over the forest. Stiles looked up and gulped. He may not be in Beacon Hills anymore, but the sight of a full moon still made him nervous. Tyler looked up at the sky as well, and something akin to confusion flicked across his face.

“Hey, Tyler,” Stiles spoke, snapping his friend out of his weird trance, “Didn’t your uncle say the party had to be finished by curfew?”

Why did Stiles have the feeling _curfew_ really meant _full moon_?

“Nah,” Tyler replied with a rather painful punch to Stiles’ arm, “he wasn’t serious. C’mon, no teenage party ends before 2 a.m.”

“Unless they end with an animal attack.” Stiles replied, still scanning the trees. If only Tyler would stop following him.

Just then a high pitched scream cut across the greenery.

“CAROLINE!” Tyler and Stiles shouted simultaneously. They ran towards the sound, far away from the fiery party and into the woods. Tyler, the strong jock, was fast and loud, shoving every stray branch out of his way while lithe Stiles ran silently at his pace. There was a third set of footsteps, and suddenly the pair almost ran into Bonnie.

“Stiles,” Bonnie rasped, panicking and out of breath, “Stiles I have to tell you something!”

“Bonnie not now!” Stiles yelled, expecting for her to be hurt, but she only nodded and the three took off running, branches snapping, dirt flying, breath panting.

“Caroline!” Tyler shouted again, hoping to hear a response and gauge where she was. They didn’t hear her, but another feminine voice rang out somewhere in the thicket to their right, along with a pair of crashing footsteps.

“Stefan! Wait!”

That would be Elena. Awesome.

Tyler, Stiles, Bonnie, Elena, and who knows who else were not running in the dark. Moonlight washed over the trails and trees, and if Stiles wasn’t gasping for air as he sprinted, it would have been remarkable. Bonnie cursed as she nearly tripped over a root, and Tyler steadied her, but other than that, none broke pace. There was a clearing up ahead, where the trees were even thinner than the rest of the small forest, around a mulch circle and an old stone structure. _Fell’s Church_. Stiles could see two figures, Damon and Caroline.

“There!” Tyler shouted triumphantly, unfairly unwinded.

“Caroline!” Bonnie yelled.

“Bonnie, is that you?” Came Elena’s reply through the woods. They couldn’t see her, but Stiles could hear her loudly running. “STEFAN!”

“Elena! Stop!” This voice was male and strong, judging from the heavy footfalls Stiles could barely make out. Jeremy. He was behind and to the right of them, but not by much. Stiles added more speed to his pace, each step bringing him closer to the clearing. Step, step, thump, thump, heel to toe, heel to toe, until finally him and the other runners broke through the treeline.

 

The sight wasn’t what Stiles was expecting. A little ways from the ruins, Damon was on the floor, groaning in pain, while Caroline sat on a stone, whimpering and clutching her bleeding neck. Then there were the runners. Stiles was right to think that there were more. He, Tyler, and Bonnie broke through the clearing with Jeremy and Elena a few feet away, but Stefan was already there, directly across from Stiles.

“Stefan!” Elena shouted, relieved, but Jeremy held her back from running across the mulch. He took in Caroline and Damon, then looked at his sister’s boyfriend squarely in the eye.

“WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON HERE?”

That wasn’t Jeremy. That was Matt, crashing through the brush with Vicki at his side. Vicki shrieked at the sight of the blood, and that snapped Caroline out of her pain-induced trance. She looked up at the sight around her. The runes to her back, Damon at her feet, and Tyler, Bonnie, Stiles, Jeremy, Elena, a gap, and then Vicki, Matt, and Stefan all standing in a semi-circle around her, varying looks of horror, concern, guilt, daze, disgust, revulsion, and alarm gracing the faces of her friends. Her eyes swam back and forth at an alarming rate, while her head turned right and left sharply, taking everything in. Stiles was guessing she was picking who to address. _Choose wisely._

“Stiles!” she finally said, and ran over to him and threw her bloody arms around his neck. Resisting the urge to cringe, Stiles rubbed her back reassuringly.

“It’s okay, it’s okay.” he repeated. She was safe, although there was a silver glimmer absent from her ear, not to mention her blood currently coating her arms. Stiles broke his friend’s embrace and turned to the collective of people he would now have to explain to. But first...

Damon was recovering, groaning as he began to sit up. “I’m going to kill you!” he exclaimed, voice strained, to no one in particular. Stefan, with his vampire speed, grabbed a branch off of a tree and stabbed Damon in the stomach, effectively pinning him to the ground. Damon groaned louder and coughed up some blood, looking at his brother with weak murder in his eyes. If Stiles, Bonnie, Elena, and Caroline were surprised, then Tyler, Matt, Jeremy, and Vicki’s jaws were on the floor.

Vicki had had enough. “What’s going on?” she trilled, her voice going dangerously high in alarm and disgust. “Why is he-” she pointed at Damon- “here? Why are any of you here? Why does this look familiar? _Why is Caroline bleeding?????”_

“Vicki!” Matt shouted, putting an arm around his sister. “Calm down.” Sobs wracked Vicki, and Jeremy took a step forward to comfort her. “Don’t you move, Gilbert.” Matt stated warningly. “Not until someone explains why the hell your sister’s boyfriend just stabbed his brother in the stomach with a tree branch with _super speed_ , why his girlfriend’s neck is bleeding, why her new roommate looks like he knows exactly what’s going on, why your sister’s best friend looks guilty as hell, why my best friend is even _here_ , and why the same damn thing happened to my sister!”

Jeremy looked at a loss for words. Stiles couldn’t help himself.

“Well when you put it like that you make this situation sound crazy.”

Everyone snapped to him and shot him a death glare, Damon included.

“Look-” Stiles began. He was about to explain everything when a sharp _snap!_ filled the clearing. A snapping branch. More footsteps could be heard, along with some cursing, and everyone turned to the gap between the Gilberts and the Donovans, where a figure began to appear.

“Sorry,” the intruder apologized, wheezing a little, “I heard someone scream.” He entered the clearing and took in the ten people staring at him, including the one stabbed in the stomach on the ground. He had a knife in one hand, and several sharpened branches in the other.

“Mr. Saltzman?” Stiles sputtered in disbelief. The teacher in question, upon recognizing that just about everyone present was his student, had the decency to look awkward.

“Um... Yes. Hello, Stiles. And... half of my first period class. Well, I guess I’d better explain myself.”

Everyone nodded profusely.

“Caroline, your neck is bleeding!” Mr. Saltzman exclaimed alarmed, oddly enough not alarmed by the sight of Damon.

“It’s fine, it’s fine.” Caroline assured, holding up a hand to stop her teacher from coming over, with her other hand firmly pressed on the wound. “It stopped bleeding, it’s not deep.” Stiles nodded in assurance.

“Alright, then will someone explain what the hell is going on here?” Matt snapped angrily.

“Uh... I’d like to know too.” Tyler added. Everyone else voiced their discrepancies as well, until Stiles quieted everyone down.

“Look,” he began again, but then Damon stiffened.

“Stefan,” he groaned, “something’s coming.”

“Oh, now what?” Stiles exclaimed exasperatedly. He soon got his answer.

As if things couldn’t get any weirder, a _freaking wolf_ burst through the tree line, soaring over Mr. Saltzman’s head and into the clearing. It landed next to Damon, who looked very terrified, but it merely growled menacingly at him before staking intently over to Tyler. Tyler could only watch, transfixed, as the wolf looked him in the eyes and bowed it’s head. Understanding seemed to dawn on Tyler’s face.

“ _Mason?”_ he asked incredulously.

  
“WHAT?” Everyone else shouted.


	10. The Plot Thickens

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi guys! Thanks so much for reading! Sorry it's been a while. I feel bad for not updating, so I'm going to post two chapters. In this chapter...well... the plot thickens. Also there's some mild swearing. Enjoy!

Ch. 10

The Plot Thickens

“Another werewolf?” Stiles shouted.

“What do you mean ‘another’?” Tyler shouted back.

“You _knew_?” Stefan asked, he, too, shocked by the recent developments.

“My uncle comes storming back into town, acting shady as shit, telling me to stay away from a cellar with freaking chains and claw marks on it, and yeah, I get a little suspicious. It’s why I threw this freaking party in the first place!”

“What the hell is a type 1 werewolf doing here?” Stiles muttered to himself.

“Excuse me, let’s get back to why Damon hasn’t bled out from a tree in his stomach!” Vicki shrieked.

“I’m a vampire.” Damon stated, almost sounding bored. Vicki paled. “Stefan is too. I was trying to be good about killing people,” Stefan shot him a nasty glare, “but then a hunter rolls into town and poisons my girlfriend.”

“You just tried to kill me!” Caroline snapped angrily, hand still on her neck.

“What?” Elena yelped.

“I’m sorry, _hunter_?” Tyler asked.

“Vampire?” Jeremy and Vicki exclaim simultaneously, both looking rather faint.

“Girlfriend?” Matt asked incredulously.

“I didn’t poison anyone!” Stiles snapped. At this, everybody stops and stares at him, even the wolf.

“Stiles,” Matt began quietly, looking at his friend with confusion, “you knew about this?” Stiles gulped, and nodded slowly. So much for his new friends.

“Yeah,” he said. “I did. I told Caroline, Bonnie, and Elena, trying to protect them.”

“You knew about this?” Jeremy asked his sister and her best friend, betrayal in his eyes.

“Just for a couple days, I swear!” Elena sobbed.

“You’re the hunter?” Tyler asked Stiles.

“Yeah. But I didn’t poison Caroline! I just gave her the earrings with vervain in them!”

“Well someone had to.” Stefan stated. “She had vervain in her bloodstream. It’s why Damon stopped feeding.”

“And why I could kick him to the ground.” Caroline added. Stiles squeezed her shoulder in pride.

“I did it!” Bonnie blurted. “I couldn’t take it! The plan for Caroline to act clueless! I put some liquid vervain in her drink! And I’m a witch!”

No one seemed surprised by this, given that everyone knew her grandmother.

“Wait, vervain?” Vicki asked. “The stuff the mayor told me to put in the coffee at the Grill?”

“The council must be on to us.” Stefan said.

“And if Stiles is the hunter,” Matt said, “then who the hell are you?” He pointed an accusing finger at Mr. Saltzman.

Everyone stopped then, no more muttering confusion about vampires, wolves, and witches, to stare at the new enigma, Mr. Saltzman, guilty with the the instruments in his hand.

“I’m not really a hunter,” Mr. Saltzman admitted, “I’m just trying to get justice for the murder of my wife.”

The was a somber silence, and no one noticed the docile wolf begin to twitch.

“Who killed your wife?” Stiles inquired gently.

“Isobel.” Mr. Saltzman’s features seemed to harden. “Her name was Isobel. And he killed her.” He raised a shaky hand and pointed at Damon.

The attention swiveled from the teacher to the vampire. Damon, at least, looked surprised.

“ _Isobel_?” he asked incredulously. “The girl I _turned_?”

“WHAT?” Mr. Saltzman exclaimed.

“Duke University.” Damon clarified, now attempting to twist the tree branch out of his stomach. “1 year ago. Some mythology teacher hunted me down and begged to turn her, claiming to be a descendant of Katherine.” Stiles’ teacher looked shattered at the news, and he took a heavy step backwards into the treeline, while everyone could only watch.

“Mr. Saltzman-” Stiles began.

“Alaric. Please.” he said on reflex, but he gazed at the ground as if lost. He kept walking backwards, branches snapping under the weight of his grief, until he was out of sight.

The somberness he left behind clung to the air for a heavy moment before the gears turning in Stefan’s mind finally clicked.

“Did you say Katherine’s descendant?” he burst out, and just like that the aura of mystery and conspiracy had returned. Both Damon’s and Stefan’s heads swiveled to Elena.

“What?” she asked.

“You’re Katherine’s descendant.” Damon clarified. “You look just like her. Or did Stefan not mention that?”

“Creepy, much?” Caroline snapped, but Elena’s face fell. Jeremy pulled her into a tight hug.

“Is- is Elena adopted?” Bonnie asked. Stefan nodded slowly.

“She’s Katherine’s doppelganger. She’s a direct relation, but her family couldn’t be traced back. It’s the only explanation.” Elena started quietly sobbing and Jeremy and Vicki consoled her.

“Wait, Katherine’s why you came back into town, isn’t it?” Stefan declared to his brother triumphantly. “You want to bring her back!”

“Back from where?” Matt asked, getting the hang of all the supernatural secrets.

“Right under our feet.” Stiles interrupted. Everyone turned to look at him. “The tomb underneath the church.” He ignored Damon’s death glare. “Well, tough, cause you’re not getting her. I’m not risking Bonnie’s life to do some spell-”

“What?” she snapped, but he ignored her.

“-to bring another hungry, out-of-control monster back into this world. I won’t have it.”

“Yeah, and who are you to say anything about it?” Damon sneered.

Stiles smiled. “You hurt my friend. I wouldn’t mess with me. I was raised by wolves and Winchesters.”

Damon didn’t reply in words. Instead, he got up from the ground and rushed towards Stiles with vampire speed. Instead of wrapping his hands around the hunter’s throat and choking him to death like he planned, Damon was halted by Stiles’ slim wrist grabbing the protruding tree branch and twisting. Damon howled and dropped to the ground, and Caroline placed a firm kick to his stomach. Another kick, by Stiles, and Damon was back in the middle of the clearing.

Stefan rushed into the center of the clearing and pinned down a thrashing Damon.

“Stefan, let go of me!” Damon growled.

“Guys-” Tyler started, taking note of the lowering moon. Stiles followed Tyler’s gaze back to Mason.

“Guys!” Stiles snapped. They both turned to look at him, and then at the direction he was pointing. Mason Lockwood was unshifted, naked, and crouching behind a very large rock.

Matt, Vicki, Elena, Bonnie, Caroline, and Jeremy looked at what had been a wolf with amazement. The wolf in question, however, looked highly embarrassed to find himself in a random clearing with eight strangers and his nephew.

There was a whirl, and Stefan and Damon were gone, leaving Stiles to manage the supernatural situation.

“Matt, Jeremy,” Stiles said with an assumed authority, his eyes not leaving the Lockwoods, “take your sisters home.”

“Stiles-” Matt started.

“No. Vicki looks like she’s about to collapse, and Elena, you look nearly as bad.” Elena made a strangled noise of protest, but Jeremy had a firm grip on her arm. He didn’t look entirely sane either, as a matter of fact all four looked shaken, but the siblings turned their backs on the clearing and trudged through the misty evening.

Once they were gone, Stiles turned to Bonnie. One look at his eyes, and she walked over to Caroline.

“C’mon, I’ll take you to the hospital.” Bonnie said to Caroline gently. Caroline nodded, her composure breaking with a single sniff, and they walked into the woods, Bonnie’s arm around Caroline’s shoulder. This left Stiles with the Lockwoods.

“Stiles-” Tyler began warily, putting himself protectively in front of his uncle.

“No, Tyler, it’s okay.” Mason said. Stiles averted his eyes as Mason walked over to the church ruins. “I keep a stash of clothes here.” he called over his shoulder. Stiles was impressed.

Once Mason was dressed, Stiles finally got a look at him. He was tall and burly, and had sun-bleached hair and a significant resemblance to Tyler. The way he held himself reminded Stiles of cocky guys at beaches. This guy was probably a surfer or lived by a shore. You know, when he’s not a wolf. _Man, Scott can’t even turn into a wolf. This is awesome!_

“Mason,” Tyler said, looking at Stiles cautiously. “He’s a hunter.”

“I know.” Mason replied, looking Stiles up and down. “But he smells like wolves.”

“You know, I’m right here.” Stiles said.

Mason laughed, and he smiled, which made Stiles think he wasn’t going to kill him. _For once, I’m glad of my unthreatening lankiness._

“What’s your name, kid?” Mason asked Stiles.

“Well if you heard them call me a hunter then surely you heard them call me Stiles?” he replied, trying to remain non-threatening. It was very hard to hold in his sarcasm.

“I didn’t need to hear that. You reek of death.” Stiles blanched, this being the second time a supernatural creature in Mystic Falls had told him that. Jeez, he wasn’t his brothers! “It takes a while to get that aura off of hunters.” Mason continued. “And you don’t look very old. How long have you been hunting?”

“Since I was a kid.” Stiles replied.

“And how old are you now?”

“Sixteen.”

Mason smiled. “So you’re really in high school?”

“Yeah.” Where was this going?

Mason’s smile tightened. “What’s your real name?”

“Stiles.” Mason gave him an incredulous look. “Really, it’s Stiles.”

“And your last name?”

Stiles paused before answering, and Mason seemed to get that something was off. He warily shifted his footing to a fighting stance.

“Look, there’s something you need to know, first, okay?” Stiles asked. Mason nodded slowly, and Tyler just looked weirded out as hell. “You said I smelled like wolf. I’m from Beacon Hills, California. Maybe you’ve heard of it?”

Mason’s face darkened. Stiles took that as a yes.

“My kind don’t get along with other types of wolves.” Mason replied. “Not the heart-eaters, not the alphas, not the born, not the bitten. But I’ve always held the Hale pack in high respect. I was sorry to hear of their passing. You know the new pack, then?”

“Yeah.” Stiles replied. “My best friend, he’s one of them. He got turned almost a year ago. Derek Hale, the alpha, he’s another friend.” The threat was underneath the words. _If you hurt me, there’s hell to pay._

“Your name, Stiles?” Mason asked, a bit icily.

Stiles gulped. “Winchester.” He finched as he waited for death.

Mason looked at Stiles quizzically. “Those dudes in the books?”

Stiles face-palmed.

Mason laughed. “Don’t judge, my girlfriend is obsessed with them! She keeps trying to tell me they’re real!”

“Yeah,” Stiles replied lightly. “They’re real, they’re my brothers. If you’re a werewolf you shouldn’t find that hard to believe.”

“Stiles! I’m messing with you! I know who the freaking Winchesters are!” Mason said, though he sounded amused, not angry.

“You do?”

“Yeah, they killed someone I knew. My ex, Madison.”

In his mind’s eye, Stiles heard a singular gunshot.

“Oh.” Was all he could say.

“No, look, she had it coming. What’s done is done.” Mason looked a little somber, but still easy-going. Stiles could assume he was okay. He turned to walk away.

“You should know”, Stiles said before he was completely out of sight, “My brothers, they’ll leave you alone, should they come back. They only go after ‘heart-eaters.’ Only we call them type three.”

“And what am I?” Mason asked.

“Type one. Probably the first to exist.” Stiles replied over his shoulder.

“It’s a curse.”

“It’s a legacy. Remember that before you start to dread each full moon.” Stiles shouted back. A couple more steps and the boy was out of sight.

“Uh, what just happened?” Tyler asked, looking from Mason, to the trees that Stiles exited through, and back again.

Mason smiled. “I think I just got some good advice.”

“Yeah, I guess, but was that about a _curse_?” Tyler pressed.

“Look, I’ll tell you about it tomorrow.” Mason said a little forcefully. “There’s no rush.” Tyler looked unsatisfied. “Look, we should get back.” He inclined his head to the direction of the Lockwood house. “I’m assuming everyone has left your party by now.”

“Yeah.” Tyler replied, lost in thought as he replayed Stiles and Mason’s conversation. Something was bugging him. It wasn’t until they were walking through the trees in silence when it hit him.

“ _Girlfriend_?”

“Yeah.” Mason replied. “Her name’s Katherine. I’ll tell you all about her tomorrow.”

 

Stiles walked back to his jeep, lost in thought. He no longer had a werewolf to worry about, he supposed, but things had definitely gotten weirder. He should call his brothers again...

Stiles’ train of thought was interrupted when he saw someone leaning against his jeep, presumably waiting for him.

“Elena, hey.” he said, catching her attention. She looked pulled together, but Stiles was a little concerned. “You shouldn’t have waited for me.”

“I know.” Elena said tiredly. “I’m sorry.” She rubbed her eyes. “I just couldn’t help it when I heard a Winchester was in town.” She straightened up, eyes icy cold and smile fierce.

Stiles’ brain went into overdrive. “Y-you’re not Elena.”

“No.” The mystery girl said simperingly. What was she, then? A shifter? The ring on her hand, however, looked silver. What was it Damon had said? But that was impossible. Because Damon had said Elena looked like-

“Katherine.”

She grinned. “You’ve been busy.” Stiles began to move, but before he could draw a weapon, Katherine grabbed his head and slammed him against the car door. Stiles felt a searing pain across his scalp and then everything went black.


	11. The Boys Are Back In Town

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Here's the second promised chapter! Supernatural returns in less than two weeks, get excited! So does The Vampire Diaries, now that I think about it. Lots of introspection in this chapter, hopefully it isn't too confusing. There is some very mild torture that might not even count as torture if anyone is sensitive to that. Be sure to check out my other stories and enjoy!

Ch. 11

The Boys Are Back In Town

Naturally, Stiles woke up tied to something. It was still dark, so he was unable to make out his surroundings, but he could tell he was standing on something sturdy, maybe stone. Wait a minute, he was standing. More to the point, his arms were chained. Above his head. To the ceiling. Was he in the... Lockwood cellular? It made sense. It was nearby, it was isolated, it apparently had chains, which was kind of overkill if you asked Stiles. He was good, but not that good. His eyes started adjusting to the darkness, or maybe the sun was beginning to rise, Stiles had no idea, but he could make out a doorway, which he was facing, and stairs perpendicular to that leading to the surface. A sliver of gold slid across his eyesight, which confirmed Stiles’ suspicions. It was morning, the sun was rising.

It wasn’t long before the room was filled with sunlight filtering from the ground, and still, Stiles was alone. He passed the time by pondering his capture. He was hit, with the side of his own jeep, _that had better not have left a dent_ , by Elena’s freaky evil twin Katherine. Who was apparently not in the tomb. She had known where to find him because of some reason, and she had known who he was because she must’ve listened to his conversation with Tyler and Mason. _Wait a minute..._

Mason had mentioned a girlfriend, and he and Katherine were back in town simultaneously? Not to mention he knew about the Winchesters? Stiles wasn’t too hopped up on his family’s infamy to believe that a wayward wolf would have randomly heard about his brothers simply because of some ex Sam killed several years ago. More to the point, Madison was a heart-eater, and Mason had flat out said that he and other wolves didn’t mix. Katherine, on the other hand, was a vampire at least 150 years old. Vampires had connections. It was more likely that Mason had heard about the Winchesters through Katherine, and he had come back into to town because she had. And she had kidnapped him... why?

Stiles’ thoughts were interrupted by a silhouette appearing at the doorway. Voluminous brown hair, black boots, leather leggings, black jacket, a downright cheerful grin. This must be Katherine.

“Stiles!” she exclaimed with mock cheeriness, sounding geninely joyful to see him trussed up and bound in a freaking _cellar._ He glowered fiercely, but that didn’t stop her from marching quickly over to him. She looked like a kid at Christmas, and that kind of creeped Stiles out. “When I heard you tell Mason who you were, well, gosh, I couldn’t believe it!” she said, breathless with excitement. “I mean, a _Winchester!_ And one I’ve never heard of!” She began circling him, almost hungrily, and Stiles remembered that she drank blood. _Dinner for a vampire, well, this is new_. “I thought there were only two. So tell me, where are your brothers?”

“Where is your boyfriend?” Stiles spat back. Katherine, back in front of him, grinned.

“He’s out.” she said simply.

“Does he know I’m here?” Stiles asked. Her answer was a little too vague for his liking.

“You’re good.” Katherine said simperingly. “He doesn’t. By the time he finds out, and your friends, well... it’ll hardly matter to you.”

“Why am I here?” He used the little mobility in his wrists to gesture to the chains encircling them.

Katherine took a slow step towards him, then another, until she was right up in his face. She gripped his chin with her hand, her snide cheerfulness replaced with cool enjoyment. She suddenly looked serious, and 100 times more dangerous.

“I ask the questions.” she said quietly. Then the smirk was back, but there was no bubbly fake persona. The real Katherine pierce appeared to be cold and cruel.

Suddenly, with insane speed, Katherine reached up and snapped Stiles’ vervain bracelet off of his hand. She hissed as she dropped the pieces to the ground, her hand covered in burns for a second before they healed before Stiles’ eyes. She straightened up, and gripped Stiles’ face again and started straight into his eyes, her pupils dilating.

“Answer every question I ask with the complete truth. Okay, let’s start with something simple.” she said pensively. “Who are you?”

“Stiles Winchester.”

It was an interesting sensation, being compelled. The words fell from his lips without a single thought, even though every fiber in his being tried to protest. He knew he was speaking, he knew he was being compelled, he knew he didn’t want to speak, and yet, impossibly, he was.

“Why are you here?”

Stiles supposed even compulsion couldn’t turn off his built in sarcasm, because he replied “the same reason as you. The Salvatores.”

Katherine smirked. “Be a little more specific.”

Stiles rolled his eyes. “I’m a hunter, and Damon started dropping bodies.”

“You came here with your brothers, Sam and Dean Winchester?”

“Half-brothers.” Stiles corrected against his will.

“Where are they now?” Katherine asked.

“I don’t know.” Stiles replied. “I’ve been calling them every night!”

“Well why don’t I try?” Katherine snarled. She dilated her pupils again. “You are not going to answer any questions unless I say so. You will give your honest location.” She reached into the breast pocket of Stiles’ flannel shirt and pulled out his phone. She found Dean’s contact, dialed the number, and put the phone on speaker.

With every ring that passed, Stiles grew both more hopeful and more afraid. Hopeful, because his brother probably wouldn’t answer, and he wouldn’t lead them into a trap, and fearful, because it meant that no one knew where he was and no one was coming for him. Finally, the ringing was put to and end.

“Hello?” Dean asked sleepily. Stiles’ heart both soared and plummeted, and Katherine smiled triumphantly. Katherine held the phone to Stiles’ ear.

“Dean! It’s Stiles!” Stiles exclaimed, conditioning his voice to show only the joy and none of the panic. Katherine nodded in approval.

“Stiles?” Dean’s voice became less sleepy and more alert instantly, and Stiles could picture him bolting upright. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine, Dean.” Stiles said seriously. Then, bitingly, “But I could ask you the same thing. I haven’t heard from you for days!”

“Yeah, sorry.” Dean said, sounding haggard. “The case with Rufus, we just finished it today. It was... insane. At first we thought it was sirens, then demons, but no. Turns out mermaids are actually real.”

Katherine rolled her eyes, and Stiles gave a weak chuckle for Dean’s benefit.

“How’s the case, Stiles?” Dean asked, concerned. “If you’ve been trying to reach us... has something gone wrong?”

Katherine shot Stiles a warning glare. “No, Dean.” Stiles replied.

“Well did you follow the lead? That kid at the party?” Dean asked. Stiles could tell that Dean was beginning to get worried by his reserve.

“His name’s Stefan, and no, that was a bust. He checks out. But the attacks have stopped. I’m beginning to think that the vamp skipped town once he figured out we were here.” Stiles said.

“And your friends?” Dean asked. He was being careful, not mentioning names, or which friends. He was leaving everything up to Stiles.

“They’re fine, only Scott found out I didn’t have mono.” Stiles said mournfully. He made it sound like a big deal, hoping Dean caught on.

“Jeez, I’m sorry, Stiles. Are you okay?” Dean asked regretfully. He had caught on, and was waiting for Stiles’ cue.

“I already told you, Dean, I’m stellar.”

“Alright, good. That’s good. Listen, Sam and I finished the gig, and we’re nearby, so we’ll head back your way. We should be there in a couple of hours.”

The change in Dean’s voice was unnoticeable to Stiles, but it was there. The extra caution and alert.

“So where are you, Stiles?”

“Mystic Falls, idiot.” Stiles replied.

“I mean _where_ in Mystic Falls, kid.” Dean asked somewhat impatiently, anxious to get on the road and help. Stiles looked at Katherine, who nodded.

“I’m in an old cellar off of the Lockwood property. It’s in the woods, I figured that’d be best for stashing my gear.”

“Alright, we’ll be there. Stiles, go to school. We shouldn’t roll into town until at least 3’oclock. And be careful.” Dean replied, sounding almost reluctant to hang up.

“Bye Dean.”

Katherine ended the call, severing Stiles and his salvation. She threw his phone to the cellar floor and faced him with a wild smile.

“I’m impressed, Stiles.”

“Really?” Stiles asked, confused. “Why?”

“Because I know hunters, and I know you somehow figured out a way to warn Sam and Dean you weren’t alone. I’m impressed because not only did you do it through the compulsion, you did it without me knowing which word.” Katherine seemed genuinely pleased with this development.

“How did you know if I warned them?” Stiles asked carefully. She could be bluffing, and he didn’t want to give anything away.

Katherine rolled her eyes. “He never asked if you were alone, Stiles. Almost as if he was waiting for your signal.” Stiles gulped. Well, yeah, that was pretty incriminating. “It doesn’t matter, really.” Katherine said with a wave of her hand. “Just so long as they’re here.”

“Why are _you_ here?” Stiles asked. “I mean, I’m here cause Damon started killing people. And Damon is here because Stefan’s here. And Stefan’s here because of Elena. And Alaric’s here because of Damon. And Damon’s also here to free you.Only you’re not in the tomb. So why are you here? It’d be easier if you backed off, that way no one would know you’re alive.”

Katherine smiled. “It is interesting, isn’t it.” Then she grabbed Stiles’ face and began speaking.

 

Caroline woke up with a mission to confront her mother. She had cleaned and bandaged her neck wound, gotten up early to make coffee, and now lay in wait in the kitchen. It wasn’t long before her mother stepped in, looking tired, as usual.

“Hey mom!” Caroline chirped, and handed her mother a steaming mug of coffee.

“Caroline, hey.” Liz said, but she stopped when she saw the bandage on Caroline’s neck. “Sweetie, what happened?”

“I think you know.” Caroline replied icily.” Liz froze, looking dumbfounded, until realization broke through. She reached towards her daughter.

“Oh, honey...”

“No!” Caroline snapped. “No. Here’s what’s going to happen. You’re going to drive me to school, since Stiles apparently left without me, and you’re going to explain everything about the founders council.”

“Okay.” Liz replied firmly. “Okay. I should probably start off by saying that I never wanted you to get hurt...”

 

U.S. history that same morning was quite the awkward affair. Caroline sauntered in, scarf around her neck and billowing over her shoulder. She strolled right past Alaric, not sparing him a glance as he flinched guiltily. As she sat down next to Bonnie, the two shot each other furtive glances. Bonnie had apologized profusely for slipping the vervain into Caroline’s drink, and Caroline had cut her off, saying Bonnie’s actions had saved her life. Under Alaric’s watchful gaze, Bonnie pulled out her phone to text Caroline.

_Should we... speak to him? I mean, Damon did kill his wife._

Caroline bit her lip and shook her head. _No. Look, we have nothing to do with that. Better to not get involved. Stiles will talk to him, hunter to hunter._

_Where is Stiles, anyway?_ Bonnie asked. _Don’t you guys normally show up together?_

_Yeah, but he ditched me_. Caroline replied. _I thought he was already here, but I don’t see him._

The rest of the class had begun filtering in, completely unaware of the tension. Well, most of the class. Tyler barrelled through the door, not looking at Alaric, Caroline, or Bonnie. He sat down in his usual back corner, twitching slightly with uneasiness. Caroline flinched when she saw him, Bonnie too. Alaric looked up from his desk, made eye contact with Tyler for two seconds, and looked back down. Then came Matt. He could be seen in the hallway talking to Vicki, who looked a little calmer than the night before, before he walked into the classroom. His eyes swam across the room, stopping four times. Caroline. Bonnie. Tyler. Alaric. The he, too, looked down and took his seat. He picked up his phone, and Bonnie nearly fell out of her chair trying to see who he was texting. It ended up being Caroline, because her phone pinged a moment later. Without speaking, she showed it to Bonnie, and Tyler peered over to see it.

_Where is Stiles?_

_I don’t know_. Caroline replied. Matt shot her a worried glance, and was about to get out of his chair and come over, but something held him back. It was the same thing that stopped all four of them from talking, from communicating with things other than texts and guilty glances: if they talked, then suddenly, everything was real. They all seemed to realize this, for each of them looked horrified. But that may be because Stefan walked in and sat in his usual place diagonal from Matt. Alaric did a double take when he saw Stefan, as if he didn’t quite believe he would have the audacity to show up. Matt noticeably shifted away from him, and Bonnie and Caroline just looked at each other. Tyler clenched his fists, and Matt caught his eye and shook his head. _It’s not worth it._

Stefan tried to catch Bonnie’s eye, or Caroline’s, even Matt or Tyler’s but they all averted his gaze.

Then came Elena. She marched in completely pulled together, no tears, no anything but steely resolve. She sat down, back straight, eyes forward. Soon, they were all doing the same thing, the tension was visible as the words on the board.

Then, there was attendance. Alaric stumbled over every name, and with each minute, the awkwardness grew.

“Bonnie Bennet?”

Bonnie looked around the room, as if unsure of what to say. “Uh, here.” Caroline nodded at her. _Where’s Stiles?_ She locked eyes with Stefan, and he seemed to understand her question, because he ever so slightly inclined his head left then right.

“Matt Donovan?”

“Here, Mr. Saltzman.” Alaric flinched a little, and Matt felt bad for about ten seconds before remembering what it had been like to take his sister home after the forest. Vampires were real. Okay, he could deal with that. But his sister being attacked by one of them? The brother of his ex girlfriend’s new guy? That took a lot of time. Vicki had been hysterical, and Matt had spent all of his energy consoling her that he had barely processed all the new information himself. Caroline had known she was dating a vampire, Elena too. Matt couldn’t think of which one was the bigger betrayal. His best friend had a werewolf uncle, and his new friend, Stiles, was, was some kind of badass hunter. What was real anymore? Matt stared at the empty chair next to him, wishing it could be occupied so he could have some answers. Stiles had tried to explain everything in the clearing, and Matt wished that he would have let him. He got the impression that Stiles knew a lot, about a lot of things, and had known since the beginning. That awkward, nice guy, had that all just been an act? Matt suppsosed he would have to bite the bullet and talk to Caroline if he wanted any answers as to what the hell was going on.

“Caroline Forbes?”

“Here.” Caroline rubbed the scarf around her neck, thinking about what her mom had told her. The society was small, just the founding families, and they hadn’t done anything except put vervain in the food and drink at the grill. They were still mainly trying to get organized, decide if there was even a threat. Still, it had been a nasty shock. Caroline had come to school eager to share this with Stiles, but he clearly wasn’t here. _Did he even make it home?_ She could tell everyone else was worried too, and she would surely be bombarded after class, as his designated housemate. It would definitely be entertaining if everyone came up to her at once, given the fact that Matt and Stefan were in a perpetual state of hostility, Tyler was confused, Elena was... acting odd, and Bonnie felt guilty for knowing the whole time. Yep, quite the mess, if one didn’t count the teacher-by-day hunter-by-night teacher struggling to keep his cool. For now, Caroline was happy to lapse into the unspoken agreement of silence.

“Elena Gilbert?”

“Here.” Elena didn’t miss the judgy look in Mr. Saltzman’s eyes, or the hostile stares from Tyler and Matt, or even the frigidness from Stefan. She had tried to talk to him at the party, and he could tell the conversation wasn’t going anywhere pleasant. Then Caroline had screamed, Stefan had taken off, and Elena had been forced to chase after him. She had been so focused on him, so relieved to see him okay, that she hadn’t realized Caroline had been on the ground bleeding. That had terrified her, and now she was at a moral dilemma. Was a romance worth putting her friends in danger? Elena groaned inwardly. Things were so much easier before Stiles had talked to her. She could have been happily ignorant to all the weird things surrounding Stefan, he could have told her when she was ready, and none of them would be in this mess. But maybe things would have been worse. Speaking of Stiles, where was he? _I’ll talk to him later. I need his help_. If she finished her conversation with Stefan, she would definitely need someone to back her up. Then there was the whole doppelganger thing. Elena groaned inwardly. She had a _lot_ to think about.

“Tyler Lockwood?”

“Here.” Tyler was fuming. Mason had promised he’d explain, then went out to run the moment Tyler got up. Tyler understood that explaining the details of being a werewolf was not an easy topic to bring up, but you’d think he’d trust Tyler after the whole thing in the clearing. Now, Tyler was still in the dark, and furious. He was torn between wanting to hit Stiles for making him trust him, and grill him on everything he knew about werewolves, since apparently he was a _hunter_ who _lived with them_ even though there were apparently different freaking _types_. All of those were rather moot, considering Stiles wasn’t even in class. He was probably hiding to avoid all this, even though in the clearing he had seemed so confident and all-knowing. It made Tyler’s blood boil to think that people could ever be so cool about psycho circumstances like this. Caroline, Bonnie, and Elena had all known, for god knows how long, and hadn’t said anything. Stiles would probably kill his uncle, and then roll away, leaving a mess that would never go away. Tyler hated change, and it looked like the situation was permanently scarred. That made him angry enough to consider killing the vampire sitting three rows away.

Alaric read through the rest of the names before getting to the two he most dreaded. He took a breath.

“Stefan Salvatore?”

“Here.” Stefan wasn’t having a good day, not by a longshot. His brother had been rather unpleasant when he had woken up in a metal cage, and Elena had been upset with him last night, but the incident had happened before she could explain herself. From the beginning Stefan had worried about Damon interfering with his relationship- the trip to Georgia had nearly given Stefan a heart attack- but never had he expected it to be unintentional. Then the whole doppelganger thing had gotten out... Stefan was wondering now if Stiles had been right. He had killed so many before, he had no respect for human life he wasn’t personally invested in, that much was clear by his failure to stop Damon. Would it really be fair to mess up more innocent lives? Caroline was hurt, because of him, who knows who else could get caught in the crossfire. Bonnie, Matt, _Elena_... If Damon succeeded in bringing Katherine back... He really needed to talk to Stiles. But where was he?

Alaric took a breath before reading the last name. The desk was empty, but one never knew with hunters. Alaric had entered the clearing confident he could take on a vampire, only to have a fellow hunter gaze at him like an utter nuisance. A fellow hunter who happened to ‘ be 16. Perhaps it was time to rethink the whole ‘revenge’ thing. Alaric noticed he wasn’t the only one holding his breath. Caroline, Bonnie, Stefan, Tyler, and Matt were all looking at the empty seat with something akin to panic.

“Mr. Stilinski.”

“Here.”

Alaric, Caroline, Stefan, Bonnie, Tyler, Matt, hell, the entire class whirled around to find Stiles standing in the doorway. He looked tired, with deep dark circles under his eyes and a rather dead look in them, which didn’t match his appearance. His hair was neat and gelled, his shoes were clean, his jeans and red t-shirt were not rumpled and were different from the night before, and he had his backpack slung over his shoulder. It was odd, how he looked so unkempt yet so put together at the same time, as well as the fact that his flannel overshirt was pulled over his hands and he was running them over his wrists subconsciously.

“Sorry I’m late, Mr. Saltzman.” Stiles offered with a weak smile. “I went out for a run in the woods and I lost track of time.”

That certainly shut Alaric up. “It’s fine, Stiles, have a seat. Just make sure to see me after class.” Stiles nodded haggardly and trudged over to his chair, where Matt looked at him with worry and awe.

“Dude, I need to talk to you.” Matt hissed. Stiles nodded absentmindedly and chewed on the tip of his eraser. Everyone else glared at Matt vividly for having the first say.

“Okay,” Alaric began, trying to get his class back in order. “Let’s begin with...” He looked down at his lesson plan and froze in horror. He cleared his throat and stared up at his class almost apologetically. “The controversy of the Boston Massacre.” Alaric flinched as he read through the preamble he had written a few days prior. “Through propaganda created by some of the founding families- I mean founding fathers!- the colonists believed the affair to be the cause of heartless, horrible killers. The so called ‘blood sucking redcoats’ were tried by people 'hunting' for their execution..”

It was just as a certain black car was hitting the highway that everyone murmured “You’ve got to be kidding me.”


	12. American Psycho

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Thanks so much for reading! Sorry for the long wait! Just a note, this chapter has some violence in it. I don't think it's that bad, but if you're sensitive to that stuff, be warned. Enjoy!

Ch. 12

American Psycho

History was terrible, but it wasn’t like Caroline, Bonnie, Tyler, Stefan, or Matt were paying attention. Even Alaric, the teacher, was frequently glancing over to the object of everyone's attention: Stiles. With every passing gaze his neat and tidy appearance faded to a haggard, dim one. His eyes were terrifyingly blank, almost dead like, and he stared at the board blankly and without speaking. He could clean up all he wanted, but something was clearly wrong with him. Everyone was just itching to get out of their seats, run over to him, and do a combination of comforting and bombarding with questions. Finally, the bell rang, and Stiles packed up his bag and trudged over to Alaric’s desk, like he had promised. Caroline, Bonnie, Stefan and Tyler hung back as well, and Alaric looked at the group with uneasiness.

“Listen everyone-” Alaric began.

“Look,” Stefan interrupted, “I don’t know what happened with your wife, or where she is now, but Damon’s locked in my cellar. If you want to talk to him I’m sure Zach will show you to him.”

“I have no classes for the rest of the day.” Alaric said. “I guess I’ll go check it out. But Stiles, are you okay?” he asked the pale teenager.

Stiles gave a mirthless chuckle. “I’m fine, Alaric. Like I said, I went for a run.”

“A run through hell, maybe!” Tyler interjected. “You look like crap!”

“Did you sleep at all last night?” Bonnie asked worriedly. Stiles had a look of confusion on his face as he tried to remember.

“Yeah.” he finally replied, face settling back into his blank look. Alarm bells were going off in Stefan’s brain. If he didn’t know any better he would say Stiles looked confused.

“You know, guys,” Stefan said, “I think we should discuss this outside. And maybe meet Alaric at the boarding house.” Everyone looked at Stefan confusedly with a dash of distrust, but the intent way he stared at Stiles made everyone worried. Alaric didn’t even protest to them ditching the rest of the day of school. He bolted for his car, while everyone else surrounded Stiles as they walked along the grass, previous animosities instantly dissolved with worry for their friend.

“Stiles, did you come home last night?” Stefan asked. Caroline looked at him weirdly.

“Of course I did.” Stiles replied in a matter that wasn’t at all convincing.

“What are you doing?” Caroline asked Stefan. He didn’t answer.

“What time did you come home?” Stefan asked Stiles. Stiles’ eyes dilated as he tried to think.

“Uh... I don’t know.” Stiles offered unsurely. He looked confused and worried.

“And what time did you leave for school?” Stefan asked, almost reluctantly.

“I don’t know.” Stiles replied, quicker, but still confused.

“Well it must have been before 7:30, because that’s when Caroline left.” Stefan pressed. “So when was it? 6? 7?”

Stiles nervously ran his fingers through his hair. “I told you I don’t know.” He was plastered in sweat, however, which suggested otherwise. His perfectly blank face was now in pain and worried. He reached for his friends, as if he wasn’t sure they were real.

“Did you see anyone on your way over? Did you stop at any red lights? Details, Stiles, details.”

“I told you I DON’T KNOW!” Stiles shouted, his look now of horror. His friends stepped back from him, surprised, except for Stefan, who stood firmly in front of Stiles with his arms crossed and a look of grim satisfaction.

It clicked for Bonnie. “You think he’s been compelled.”

“I do.” Stefan replied. “It would explain the blank features and the lack of details. Whoever did it did a sloppy job.”

“That’s impossible.” Stiles said with a laugh, momentarily like his usual self. He began to roll up his sleeve. “I can’t be compelled. I’ve got the bracelet Bonnie’s grams gave me-”

He stopped mid-sentence, and the laughter died off of his face, when he saw that the silver bracelet was gone. Oddly enough, he wasn’t at all bothered by the deep purple bruises, though everybody else gasped when they saw them. “That’s impossible.” Stiles muttered to himself, almost like a madman. “Where’d it go? No, no, no...”

Stefan put his hands firmly on Stiles’ shoulders. “Stiles, you were compelled.” he said calmly. “I need you to tell me what you remember.”

“No, I can’t do that.” Stiles said quickly, sounding scared. He tried to jerk away from Stefan, but the vampire caught his wrist. Stiles yelped in pain, but Stefan ignored him, rolling up his flannel sleeve to examine it. The purple bruises were deep and accompanied by little cuts, as if something had been digging into his wrists. While they were too close and thick to make out shapes, they didn’t look like fingers, leading Stefan to believe that Stiles had been tied up or chained, possibly for hours.

“Stop. You can’t do that.” Stiles said fearfully to Stefan, but again, Stefan ignored Stiles. He rolled up the sleeve further and then saw the finger marks. Five of them, on his forearm, possibly from dragging Stiles’ unconscious body. Stefan looked up from Stiles’ arm at Stiles, looked with all of his senses. Now that he was paying attention, he realized there was a thin layer of blood on Stiles’ scalp, indetectable if you weren’t a vampire. He hadn’t made it home. He had been hit- or slammed- into something and been dragged off and tied up for hours.

“Stiles. Listen to me!” Stefan said urgently. Stiles stopped struggling. “You want to know why you’ve been unable to answer my questions? Because you never left the party and you never came to school, not willingly anyways. You’ve been compelled. You were hit on the head and dragged away, then tied up for hours. Either you escaped, or someone compelled you to come back.”

Stiles’ eyes swam back and forth as he processed the information. “No, no, please!” he begged, any composure he ever had breaking rather suddenly into tears. “Stop talking! Please!”

“Could he have escaped?” Tyler asked warily, eyeing Stiles with pity, confusion, and disgust.

“Not likely.” Stefan said firmly. “The story about running was programmed into his head. He fixed his clothes in a way that didn’t make sense, he had on a blank face all through class. Somebody compelled him to put on appearances, to erase suspicion, and did a sloppy job of it. This is bad.”

“And it’d be better if he had escaped?” Elena asked incredulously.

“Yes.” Stefan replied. “Because then we’d know someone would come after him. Instead, he’s a trojan horse, and we have no idea what he’s been compelled to do.”

Everyone took a step back from Stiles, who was still silently crying, watching him warily.

“Is this an act?” Bonnie asked. “What’s real?”

“This is a lot of compulsion. His whole personality has been repressed, replaced by basic functions. There’s no way I can undo it without knowing what to undo.”

“Is the crying real?” Matt asked.

“I think so.” Stefan replied. “I think it’s him trying to fight it. I think we’re getting close to what he’s been told to do. Stiles, where were you taken?”

Stiles shook his head furiously. “Stefan, stop!”

“What were you asked to do?”

“I can’t tell you!”

“Who were you taken by?”

Stiles punched Stefan in the face. There was a sick THWACK! as Stefan’s nose broke. The tears seemed to freeze on his face as the emotion drained out of it, replaced by steely resolve.

“I warned you.” Stiles said calmly. As Stefan replaced his nose with a look of surprise, Stiles opened his backpack and took out a wooden stake.

“Stiles...” Stefan began warningly. “Whatever you’re compelled to do, fight it!”

“I tried!” Stiles snapped. “I can’t!”

“Can you at least remember what it is you’re supposed to do?” Stefan asked, backing away from Stiles with his hands up.

“I’m supposed to stop you from finding out who compelled me!” Stiles said with a desperate sardonism. “I guess that means kill you.” He charged, stake in hand, towards Stefan. Stefan threw him to the ground, roughly but not enough to hurt him. Stiles landed on his forearms and twisted, scissoring his legs to catch Stefan behind the knees.

“Stiles!” Bonnie yelled as Stefan fell and Stiles jumped up. He ignored her and ran. Caroline chased after him and Stefan followed with his vampire speed. He grabbed Stiles by the back of his shirt and dragged him down. Stiles landed on his back with an “oomph!” and stabbed Stefan in the leg with the stake he was still holding.

Stefan fell down, again, and Caroline caught up. She held Stiles down while he tried to get up and finish the job.

“Caroline-get-off-of-me!” Stiles spat out as he struggled against her grip. She was strong, though, which is why it wasn’t until Stefan had pulled out the stake in his leg that Stiles was able to break free and toss Caroline aside. Stefan rushed over to Stiles and pinned him against a tree.

“Stiles! Stop! I am trying not to hurt you!” Stefan shouted over Stiles’ thrashing.

“Just compel him to stop!” Caroline exclaimed.

“I can’t! Not without making things worse.” Stefan pulled Stiles off of the ground by his neck, and Stiles clamped both of his hands around Stefan’s in an attempt to shake him off.

Suddenly, Caroline shrieked, and a syringe appeared out of nowhere, jammed into Stefan’s neck. Stefan groaned weakly, and dropped to the ground with a thud. Stiles dropped to his feet, wrapped his hands around his throat, and took a shuddering breath. He raised his head to look at his savior.

“What the hell is going on?” Dean asked.

“Who the hell are you?” Caroline screamed. “And what the hell did you do to Stefan?” She raised her fists defensively. Her friends, spectating, ran over to the tree from across the courtyard.

“Woah woah woah! Easy!” Dean said, holding the syringe up with his hands in a gesture of surrender, while Stiles still got his breathing under control. “My name is Dean Winchester. I’m Stiles’ brother. And I hate to break it to you, but your friend here,” he nudged a gasping Stefan with his toe, “is a vampire.”

“Guys,” Stiles rasped. “Get out of here. Now. Before I hurt someone else.” Caroline looked reluctant, but Bonnie grabbed her wrist and the pair, along with Tyler and Matt, ran back into the school. Stiles rasped as he strained against the tree. It felt like his mind burst free. He was in control, at least for now, and while he still couldn’t remember where he had been, he knew that some other force was making him attack his friends. His hands clenched as he tried to restrain himself from punching Dean, from trying to kill him.

Dean pulled out the machete from the lining of his green jacket, and held it up, about to swing down on Stefan.

“No-Dean-stop-help-” Stiles sputtered out. Dean did stop, and he looked at Stiles with concern, taking note of what appeared to be an inward struggle. He was at his brother’s side in a heartbeat.

“Stiles, man, are you okay? Are you possessed?” He cursed as he fumbled in his jacket for his holy water flask.

“No-mind control- I’m-I’m gonna kill you!” Stiles gasped for breath between each word.

“You can try.” Dean mumbled. Stiles let out a hysterical laugh as he sank to the ground on his knees, bending over and taking deep breaths as he tried to fight the compulsion. Dean bent down to comfort him, but suddenly he went flying across the grass. Damon stood over Stiles, looking down at him with repulsion.

“What the hell did you do to my brother?” he demanded. Stiles raised his gaze and saw Stefan still twitching on the ground.

“Dead man’s blood-Damon-compulsion-help-” Damon sighed and picked Stiles up by the scruff of his shirt.

“It will stop hurting once you give in to it.” Damon said simply. So Stiles did. And he punched Damon square in the jaw.

“What the hell.” Damon muttered as he brought his hand to his bleeding split lip.

“Hey! Get away from my brother!” Dean shouted as he ran across the field from where he had been thrown.

Stiles threw another punch but Damon caught it. He squeezed, crushing Stiles’ fingers.

“Augh!” Stiles exclaimed. Damon dropped his grip, only to be punched again, this time with enough force to fall down. Stiles looked at the perpetrator with wonder. Sam stood over Damon, gasping and holding his hand.

Stefan was getting to his feet just about then, gasping as he recovered from his dose of dead man’s blood.

“What the hell did you do to me?” he asked Dean.

Damon rushed up from the ground at vampire speed and grabbed Stiles around his neck with one hand and another on the top of his head, making it clear he could snap it with one twist. He faced Sam and Dean, who put their hands up.

“Winchesters I presume.” Damon snarled.

“Damon...” Stefan began warily.

“Stefan, give me one good reason why I shouldn’t kill them all right now. They attacked first!”

“I’ll tell you why not you son of a bitch!” Dean snarled. Stefan ignored him.

“Stiles has been compelled, Damon. He isn’t doing anything by choice.”

“What, he’s just programmed to attack?” Dean asked angrily. “By who?”

“We don’t know.” Stefan admitted.

Just about then, Stiles elbowed Damon in the stomach, broke free, and started running again, only this time he was running towards a group of people that had just appeared at the edge of the courtyard.

 

“We need to get out there.” Caroline mumbled as she watched the fight going on in the courtyard. With every punch and kick thrown, the collective inside flinched, growing more and more horrified at the skill and deadliness of the fight. Then a black car pulled up into the nearby parking lot, and two tall guys climbed out and ran like lightning towards the scene.

“Those must be Stiles’ brothers.” Bonnie whispered. “Sam and Dean.”

“Damn, they’re fast.” Tyler commented.

They saw the shorter one outstrip the taller one and approach Stefan, but then a shrill sound buzzed over their heads. Second period had ended.

“We have to do something!” Matt said. “The whole school will see this nuthouse!”

“We’ve got to go stop it.” Elena said simply. Then without further ado, they ran out the doors into the courtyard.


	13. Unlucky

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Part two of my apology. More violence. Enjoy!

Ch. 13

Unlucky

“What the hell?” Damon murmured as he, Stefan, Sam, and Dean followed Stiles to the edge of the school grounds.

There were five people, obviously vampires, standing in cliche of all cliches, a ‘V’. But the girl at the front, with the long, wavy brown hair, looked a lot like-

“-Katherine.” Stefan breathed. The two pairs of brothers screeched to a halt in front of Stiles, who just kind of stood there, confused. Katherine looked at Stiles in the eyes, pupils dilated, and said a single word.

“Stellar.”

He dropped to the ground, and Sam and Dean rushed to his side while Katherine giggled, before looking up at her in severe animosity.

“That’s what the word was, right?” Katherine asked the Winchesters. “The one that let you know he wasn’t alone?”

“What the hell did you do you bitch?” Dean spat.

“He’ll be fine.” Katherine said with a wave of her hand. “Wouldn’t want him to miss the show. I kind of want Stiles to be awake when I kill his entire family, starting with you two.”

“Why?” Sam asked. “What good is it going to do?”

“Besides getting two hunters out of the way?” Katherine laughed mirthlessly. “How old do you think I am, Sam?”

Sam shrugged, more focused on rousing Stiles.

“Five hundred.” Katherine said bitterly. “That’s five hundred years of debts and favors. Nothing quite says ‘stay away’ like killing the world’s most dangerous hunters.”

“No.” Stefan interrupted. “I know you, Katherine, conniving con artist you may be. You wouldn’t do this just to scare people.” He studied Katherine, and she shifted under his gaze. Then, it hit him.

“You’re running.” he breathed.

Katherine shifted again. “So what? We all have secrets, Stefan. Mine have just been following me around since the 15th century.”

“Sweetheart, killing us ain’t going to make those secrets go away.” Dean interjected.

Katherine cocked her head to the side, studying the older Winchester furtively. “No.” she admitted. “But it might buy my freedom.” Then, without another warning, she and her vampires charged.

 

Caroline outstripped everyone as she bolted across the courtyard. Elena shrieked when she saw the vampires attack, but no one stopped running.

“Get to the boarding house!” Caroline shouted over her shoulder at her friends. “I’ll be fine!”

 

Stiles was still unconscious, so Dean, Damon, Stefan, and Sam each had their hands full. Two vampires went after the Salvatores, while the other two and Katherine went for the Winchesters. Sam and Dean fought with stakes in their hands, the dead man’s blood syringe discarded. Both pairs of brothers were a flurry of fists and fangs, until Stefan managed to tear the heart out of one of his opponents. He discarded the body, came up from the vampire fighting Damon and snapped his neck. Damon reached for one of the Winchester’s discarded stakes and stabbed his opponent coldly.

Meanwhile, Sam and Dean were having a little more trouble. Katherine fought fiercely, and they were doing everything in their power to stay afloat. Then, Dean and Sam’s stakes hit their marks, and Katherine’s companions dropped to the ground. Sam, Dean, Stefan and Damon turned on Katherine then, circling her.

“Congratulations.” she drawled, a simpering smirk gracing her visage. Then, behind her, there were several thrashing noises. The Winchesters and the Salvatores looked up and gaped as they saw a whole flurry of vampires coming their way. 27 of them, to be exact.

“You opened the tomb.” Damon whispered in astonishment. “How?”

“You have your Bennet witch,” Katherine said with a smile, “I have mine.”

“Bitch, we’ve faced whole armies of demons.” Dean spat. “You think we’re scared to make some heads roll?”

“I think this time, Dean, it’ll be yours.”

Dean shrugged. “Yours will do.” Then, lightning fast, he unsheathed his machete and swung. Katherine evaded him easily, but she was caught off guard. Damon and Stefan tackled her, and were just about to deliver the killing blow when the army of the tomb vampires descended on them.

It was like being caught in a cave full of moving bats. The Winchesters and the Salvatores could not see anything in their paths, save for bits of hair and skin that flashed as they were surrounded. Instead of tacitly fighting, they engaged in a series of mindless kicks and swipes of fists and weapons, hitting the mark every so often by the telltale shriek of pain. Damon and Stefan’s skins turned to red ribbons as they were shredded and restitched by the tornado of attacks. Dean and Sam, amidst the continuous swipes of their machetes, looked around frantically for Stiles, but his body was nowhere to be found. They were, however, occupied, and as every vampire fell, the hurricane would stop briefly, a moment of relief, as the desiccating body was thrown out of the queue. Damon and Stefan were ripping out hearts and tossing them into the flurries. They knew some of their companions but dared not pause for a hint of deadly remorse.

Sam’s hair was standing on end, blowed in a thousand directions by the speed of the attacks. He, Dean, Stefan, and Damon were back-to-back-to-back-to-back, the cyclone of attacks dwindled down to seven vampires circling hungrily. Twenty bodies lay scattered at their feet, a gruesome combination of being decapitated and having their hearts ripped out.

Sam and Dean raised their machetes threateningly. The vampires hissed.

“Well!” Dean said. “Come on!”

Suddenly, seven vampires became six. The Winchesters and eight other vampires watched as the seventh enemy cried out, a red, dribbling necklace of blood forming around his neck. He dropped to the ground with a thud, and a second later his head dropped with him. Caroline stood over the body triumphantly, grinning like an idiot. She was still grinning, in fact, when her head turned sharply at an unnatural angle as her neck snapped.

“Caroline!” Stefan cried out. Sam and Dean flinched as her body fell rather loudly at Katherine’s feet.

“Shame.” Katherine lamented cooly. “I liked her.”

The Winchesters gaped at her audacity.

Well, that’s not quite true.

Sam and Dean were speechless. But then again, they were staring at something else. A menacing form had risen behind Katherine, and she was unaware of it’s presence.

“Why are you doing this, Katherine?” Damon asked, and for the first time, he looked sad and defeated. “I had a plan to rescue you.”

“I didn’t need to be rescued!” Katherine snarled. “Damon, if you think that I ever loved you, for even a heartbeat, then you are sadly mistaken.”

The presence behind Katherine, now at full height, brandished a weapon.

Damon’s eyes narrowed. “I’d say that I would love nothing more than to tear out your heart, Katerina, but I think someone else is going to do it for me.”

Katherine frowned slightly, first at the use of her real name, and then as she sensed the presence behind her.

She unsheathed a blade hidden in her sleeve, and then she whirled around quickly and stabbed an advancing Stiles Winchester in the gut.

Three things happened at once.

First, the six circling vampires closed in to attack.

Secondly, Sam and Dean let out a languishing cry as their brother stepped away from the vampire slowly, gazing at the knife protruding from his stomach.

Thirdly, Katherine wailed as she dropped to the ground.

“No- no-” she sobbed as her skin began turning to ash before her very eyes. “I am Katerina Petrova. I am five hundred years old! I do not die here!”

Those were her last words as her hands dropped limply from the stake in her heart.


	14. The Dead and the Dying

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, sorry, sorry I have not been updating! Enjoy!

Ch. 14

The Dead and the Dying

No one witnessed Katherine’s death. Everyone was much too busy dispatching the remaining six vampires with ease. The Salvatores tore the hearts out of three, while the Winchesters staked two. The sixth one ran for Stiles, and even with a knife in his gut he was able to cut of her head. He gazed down at the woman he had just killed, Asian, beautiful, deadly. Oh my god, he had just killed her. Oh my god, he had killed them all.

No one witnessed Katerina’s death, no one but Stiles. As he was bleeding out he sank to the ground on his knees, in a death-like trance. His compulsion was broken, and he gazed upon the three women on the ground in front of them. One was a decapitated tomb vampire. One was a manipulative killer. One was a human girl. All he had killed.

“Caroline.” he whispered, gazing at the dead girl with the long blond locks, who had taken him in. Caroline, the girl he had trained to fight, and had died fighting. Oh, god, Caroline. The world was turning black for Stiles, and as he was slowly losing consciousness, one searing thought snaked through his mind.

_What have I done?_

 

Zach Salvatore was pacing the Salvatore boarding house furiously in front of Elena, Bonnie, Tyler, Matt, and Alaric.

“You’re saying not only did I not realize Damon had escaped, he was also last seen attacking a whole horde of vampires outside the school?”

Everyone nodded.

“And one of them was your friend, Stiles?”

“No.” Bonnie corrected. “Stiles was compelled to attack Damon.”

“And kidnapped.” Elena added helpfully.

Zach sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose in exasperation.

Suddenly, there was a knock on the large, heavy wooden door. Zach walked briskly to it and threw it open, revealing Damon Salvatore himself, looking grim as he stood there stiffly with his hands at his side, his black clothes covered in dust and blood.

Zach took several startled steps back. Damon raised his hands in surrender, and took a slow, cautious step over the doorway.

“I’m not going to hurt you, Zach.” Damon said, his voice full of pain, and something odd. Grief. His eyes looked haunted. “I’m not going to hurt anyone.”

“Where’s Stefan?” Elena asked tentatively.

“He’ll be here in a moment.” Damon said sadly. “Elena, I am so sorry for what I did to you. I’m sorry to everyone.”

“Damon, what happened?” Bonnie asked. “Where are Stiles and Caroline?”

“Stiles got stabbed. He passed out. His brothers took him to the hospital.” Damon replied, distantly and without much emotion. He was a world away. His mind, and his energy, was focused on remembering.

_“Stiles!” Sam and Dean exclaimed, running over to their little brother as he collapsed next to Katherine’s corpse, eyes fluttering and shirt soaking with blood. Stefan ran over to him too, but Damon stopped dead in his tracks, staring down at Katherine. The woman he loved, the love of his life, who had made him immortal and who he had chased for 150 years, was dead. Killed by a teenage hunter, but dead because of her own pride. Damon felt torn between breaking down and crying and killing Stiles out of rage. Yes, Katherine had said she had never loved him, but he had loved her. And now she was dead, dust, desiccated... Right next to her best friend Pearl, decapitated by Stiles, but damned herself by Katherine. The irony was overwhelming._

_“Take him to a hospital.”Stefan told the Winchesters sternly, gingerly lifting Stiles from his resting place. “The wound isn’t that bad, he can pull through. What could kill him is the blood loss. The hospital is five blocks east of here.”_

_“Dean, help me carry him!” Sam said urgently, nodding his head in thanks at Stefan as he struggled to lift his little brother._

_“What about the girl?” Dean asked, nodding to blond of the three female corpses laying side-by-side-by-side. Pearl, Caroline, and Katherine._

_“I’ll take care of it.” Stefan said. “I’ll take care of all of this. GO!”_

_Sam and Dean picked up Stiles and ran for their car, all the while carrying their brother carefully._

_When they were gone, Stefan moved at inhuman speed, taking away the corpses and heads, while Damon was stupefied. At last, there were only two left. Caroline and Katherine._

_“Damon,” Stefan said gently, “I need to take her. I need to bury her body.”_

_Damon, in his grief, thought he was talking about Caroline._

_“Go ahead.” he said thickly, choking back tears. Stefan looked unsure, but rushed forward anyway, picking up the brunnette with the long curls. Damon, realizing his mistake, made a noise of protest, but it was too late. Stefan rushed away, gone, with the love of Damon’s life in his arms._

_History repeating._

_“Damon, we need to go!” Stefan said after he returned, shaking Damon’s shoulder gently to snap him out of his daze. It didn’t work. To Damon, all noises and sensations were far, far away, lost in the time of his happiness, gone to 150 years ago._

_“Damon, we need to go.” Stefan repeated. “She’s going to wake up soon.”_

_“No.” Damon said wistfully, still thinking of Katherine, how peaceful she looked on the ground, her blond curls tumbling over the grass. “No. Let her sleep.”_

_“Damon, I fed her my blood.” Stefan said. “Last night, in the woods. She’s going to wake up soon.”_

_“Remember when we woke up?” Damon said sadly, “when she fed us her blood and killed us? Last night in the woods?”_

_Stefan sighed deeply. “DAMON!” he yelled, though not with anger. “Snap out of it! Caroline is in transition!”_

Caroline. _Damon thought_. Caroline. The girl next to Katherine, lying together on the ground and the grass, killer and killed. Caroline, the girl who I compelled and drank from just like Katherine did to me. Caroline, who was killed in the woods trying to do the right thing, save a friend. Killed by someone she couldn’t see, the snap of a gunshot and the break of a neck echoing in the same empty forest.

Damon snapped out of it.

_History repeating._

“Damon!” Bonnie was shouting. “Damon! Where’s Caroline?”

“She’s with Stefan.” Damon replied. “They’ll be along in a moment.”

 

“Hey!” Sam yelled furiously into a startled hospital atrium as he and Dean stumbled in with a barely conscious, bloody Stiles holding himself up by their necks. His eyes were fluttering and his head was lolling, and he was making indistinct noises. “Hey! We need a doctor!”

A young, brunette woman with a stethoscope slung around her neck rushed over to the three brothers. “I can take him.” She barked an order at a nearby nurse, and soon a white rolling bed was brought to them. Sam and Dean carefully laid Stiles in it, and the boy grasped their jacket lapels as they tried to back away, as if to say _don’t you dare leave me_. Then, he was descended upon, paramedics surrounding every side of his bed and picking him apart like vultures, calling out conditions and diagnostics while he was wheeled away from his brothers. Stiles gave Sam and Dean one last look of anguish, blood making his lips ruby red, before he was obscured by a pair of swift and heartless double doors.

Dean looked crazed enough to march in after Stiles’ procession, but Sam held him back.

“He’ll be fine, Dean.”

“Easy for you to say.” Dean grumbled. He looked around at their sterile surroundings and shuddered. “I freaking hate hospitals.” He then promptly turned on his heel and began to storm out.

“Where are you going?” Sam called after him.

“All we can do is wait.” Dean called back. “Least I can do is clean the blood off of

my car.”

 

Stefan carried Caroline’s broken body over the threshold and into a chorus of silence. Elena, Bonnie, Tyler, Matt, Alaric and Zach could only stare in horror as he set her gently on the couch, her head lolling unnaturally, her eyes closed.

_She did not look peaceful._

That was the only thought raging through Elena’s tempered brain. She did not look peaceful, because only the dead had peace. And Caroline wasn’t- couldn’t- be dead. Elena searched Caroline’s face frantically for anything. The twitch of an eyelid, the flutter of a cheek, the movement of breathing, any sign of life, but there was nothing. Caroline wasn’t moving, oh god she wasn’t moving, but she couldn’t be dead because the dead are at peace and Caroline looked restless, she must be sleeping. She did not look peaceful. She did not look peaceful.

And then Elena understood.

“She’s in transition, isn’t she.”

All heads snapped in Elena’s direction, and Stefan nodded grimly. Head bobbing up and down like Caroline’s, unsupported on the couch.

“Yes.” Stefan said quietly. “Katherine broke her neck in battle, and the blood I used to heal her wounds was still in her body. She’ll wake up soon.”

“Where is Katherine now?” Tyler asked sharply, voice heavy with accusation.

“She’s dead.” Damon said weakly, leaning against a wall for support. Everyone jumped at his sudden input. He looked Tyler dead in the eyes with a strong but hopeless gaze. “Stiles killed her, a stake to the heart. She’s dead. She was lying next to Caroline and I thought- I thought-”

Stefan cleared his throat, cutting his brother off. Tyler averted his eyes from Damon’s powerful gaze.

Bonnie gazed at Caroline, wondering how things had gotten so bad to the point where one of her best friends was waiting to be resurrected on a nearby couch.

Tyler gazed at Caroline, wondering how things had gotten so bad to the point where he wondered, as he looked at his dearly departed friend, if he was next. Mason had never explained how one became a werewolf.

Matt gazed at Caroline, and wondered the same thing. If he was next to die. Him, his sister, his friends? If more vampires came to Mystic Falls, who would be caught in the crossfire next?

Alaric gazed at Caroline, and swore to stop hunting his wife. Damon said she was a vampire. Fine. She left him. She made her choice. She should be forgotten before more people get hurt.

Zach gazed at Caroline, and began making plans to move.

Elena gazed at Caroline, and knew, deep down, that it was all her fault. Maybe not Caroline’s death- she wasn’t the one to tell her to run into battle, but he had given Stefan a reason to stay in Mystic Falls. They say a death puts everything into perspective, and Elena’s world was rocked. Messing around with vampires had seemed fine at the time, but really it was like playing with fire. Elena had to wake up, or it would be more than Caroline making an early departure.

As all of this happened, Caroline began to feel the eyes upon her, just as Stiles began to hear the clanging of metal on metal.

_Well that’s annoying, won’t it stop?_

Caroline’s neck hurt. It was stiff and sore and she wanted to rub it but couldn’t for the life of her move her hands. Her limbs were heavy, so, so heavy. Her chest was constricted, as if she had spent a lot of time not breathing. She also couldn’t open her eyes. _They must be glued together with sand. Ugh._

Stiles’ stomach hurt. He felt horrible, he ached all over. His eyes were fluttering but he couldn’t open them. The sound of metal clanging on metal rew louder, but he couldn’t cover his ears. His limbs were too heavy to lift. He felt as if...

_...I’ve come back from the dead._

Caroline started. She wasn’t sure where that thought came from, but it was scary enough for her eyes to fly open. She gasped for breath, her back arching as she gulped down air with haste. She began to rub her sore neck quickly, working out the kink with her fingers as she took in her surroundings. A fancy room, dark wood panelling, lots of fancy objects and a generous quantity of sunlight streaming in. She looked down at her clothes. Jeans and a floral top. The same clothes she had run into battle with.

“Hungry.”

Caroline hardly recognized that voice, raspy and desparate. Yet, impossibly, it was hers. “I’m so hungry.”

Instead of her statement echoing around an empty room, Caroline’s desperation was met with a chorus of gasps. Winching at the harsh yet soft beams of sunlight, Caroline could make out quite a few people in the room -which she now recognized as the Salvatore house- with her. Elena, Bonnie, Alaric, Matt, Tyler, and a guy she didn’t recognize were all staring at her, open mouthed, while Stefan looked at her with grim resignation. Damon looked at her deeply, lost and regretful, as if he truly felt remorse for all he had done to her. Feeding on her, making her forget...

Caroline screamed as he bit her neck, but no one could hear her. He looked her dead in the eyes with a chilling, remorseless gaze.

_“You just met up with your new boyfriend” he instructed calmly, pupils dilating, “and the two of you went to the mall and did nauseating couplely things. You’re going to go home and not remember what just happened.”_

Wait. Where had that come from?

“Caroline.” Stefan said softly, stepping gingerly toward her. “How are you feeling?”

“Sore.” Caroline croaked. “What happened?”

“What do you remember?” Stefan asked. Not taking his concerned gaze off her, he motioned to the unknown guy to leave the room. The guy did, after a curt nod of understanding.

“I- I-” Caroline hesitated. What did she remember? “The woods. Last night in the woods-”

Damon winced at the phrase. Caroline’s eyes narrowed.

“Oh, I’m sorry!” she screeched. “Should I feel bad for bringing up being attacked by you?” Caroline stood up quickly, ignoring the complaints of her creaking joints, shaking with anger, tears in her eyes. Her chest was rising and falling rapidly at the sudden surge of raw emotion coursing through her veins. Where had it come from?

Damon didn’t react. No startled jump, no snide remark, no languid smile. He merely stared blankly into the abyss of Caroline’s anger.

“Caroline, maybe you should calm down.” Stefan said, approaching her slowly with his hands up, as if she were a volatile explosive. “What else do you remember?”

A face flashed in her minds eye. “Stiles. He didn’t come home.” Caroline’s present company winced, but she plowed on. “Then he wasn’t at school, and we were all worried, but then he was. Only he looked- wrong. You fought. You and Stiles fought. He ran, and- and-” Caroline’s voice began to shake as her story began to unravel. She unconsciously started running her trembling hands up and down her neck. “I ran after him.” she whispered, her memory crashing down in front of her. “And I didn’t come back, did I? The last thing I remember is lopping of a vampire’s head.”

Stefan shook his head regretfully. “Caroline, you had my blood in your body when you died. You’re in transition.”

Caroline covered her mouth in horror. Meanwhile, the unknown guy had returned, holding an object behind his back.

“This is my nephew, Zach.” Stefan explained. “He has something you may want.” Zach held up the object from behind his back, a blood bag.

Caroline audibly gasped, and she had to hold back her entire body from lurching forward and snatching the bag from Zach’s wrist. Or better yet, biting Zach’s wrist.

“What I do?” she asked with a shaking voice, her mouth hurting more than her entire body.

“Caroline,” Damon said with a shaking voice, “It’s your choice.”

 

 _Clang! Clang!_ Stiles couldn’t take it anymore. His eyes flew open to fluorescent lighting and a bleached ceiling. A hospital. Lovely.

“Stiles?” a voice said, a pretty doctor with long brown hair. “Stiles, my name is Meredith Fell. You’re at Mystic Falls General Hospital. Can you hear me?”

“Yeah.” Stiles rasped. “Yeah, I can hear you.” Stiles squinted at the sudden intake of light, but it didn’t matter as he was soon assaulted by a flood of memories. His hands flew to his chest, crinkling his paper hospital gown, where he found a patched up wound. Then he remembered things he had heard. Things he had heard while bleeding in his brother’s arms.

Ignoring the rapid beeping of his heart rate monitor, and the aching in his worn out joints, Stiles bolted upright, looking haunted and breathing only a single word.  
“Caroline.”


	15. Heartbreaker

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Enjoy!

Ch. 15

Heartbreaker

“Dean, I’m fine!” Stiles said for the umpteenth time as he swatted away his brother’s fussing hands. Sam merely stood in the doorway of the hospital room, chuckling at Dean’s concern.

Dean, ignoring his brother, checked out Stiles’ knife wound. “She did a nice job patching you up.” he noted reluctantly. “We can probably leave tonight.”

Stiles shifted uncomfortably in his bed. “Dean, before we leave I-”

Dean waved his hand, effectively cutting off his brother’s words. “You want to say goodbye to your friends, I know. We talked about this, Stiles.”

“No, you talked!” Stiles snapped. “I listened! I can’t just vanish into the wind without them knowing that I’m okay. Without _me_ knowing if _they_ are okay-”

“Stiles.” Sam said firmly, silencing him. “I’m with Dean on this one. They already know that you’re okay, and anyway, it’s too dangerous. Caroline just completed her transition, and her emotions are still running high. If even a particle of her blames you for her death, she’ll attack. As for the rest of your friends, they may not be as happy to see you as you would think.”

“It’s better to make a clean break.” Dean finished with an air of finality.

Stiles stayed silent, the words of his brothers ringing in his ears. Was that really true? Did they really blame him? Stiles wouldn’t put it past them. He had known his friends for less than two weeks, not long enough to build a trust to withstand a blow like this. Sam and Dean’s warning was sound, but the thought of leaving things unsettled churned in his stomach. He had to see them, he had to know.

Stiles’ thoughts were interrupted by a young, brown haired nurse entering the hospital room. “Meredith.” he said in greeting. Although this only being their third encounter, he had quickly come to like the nurse. Meredith had been kind to him when he had woken up the first time, about 18 hours previously, and had quickly ushered his brothers in. She left to give them some privacy, and while he had been drifting in and out of consciousness as his brothers fed him info on his friends, she had only returned once more to check up on him.

Now, she flashed him a winning smile, and quickly began joking as she checked his monitors and IV bag. “I think I can unhook this now.” she said, and Stiles winced as she pulled out the needle in his arm quickly and efficiently.

“I hate needles.” Stiles murmured.

Sam and Dean shared a glance. “We’re still going to go there on the way home, right?” Sam whispered to Dean. Dean nodded. Stiles did not see or hear that interaction.

“I will say, Stiles, your recovery is marvelous.” Meredith said as she looked him up and down. “I think I can probably discharge you in a couple of hours.”

“That’s great news, doc.” Sam said with a weak smile, exhaustion beginning to bleed through his composure. After all, it had been about 24 hours since he had taken on 29 vampires and almost lost his brother.

“Tell you what, guys.” Stiles said abruptly. “I’m not moving for at least, what, 6 hours?” He looked to Meredith for conformation, who nodded. “Go back to the apartment, get some sleep. You clearly need it. Come back later, and then we can go home.”

Dean opened his mouth to protest, then saw how exhausted Sam was and thought better of it. “Alright, we’ll see you later, Stiles.” he said, ushering an exhausted Sam out the door. Then, to Meredith, “Make sure he doesn’t go anywhere.”

Meredith mock saluted him, and Stiles liked her even more for it.

The moment the Winchesters had shut the door behind them, Meredith began to wrap up Stiles’ now empty IV tube.

“I can give you some sedative if you want.” she proposed kindly. “Your dad called and got all of the insurance in order, so that won’t be an issue. The sedative will make the next 6 hours a little less- _confining_ \- if you will.”

“No, that’s okay.” Stiles said with a shake of his head.

“Well I can’t say I’m surprised.” Meredith said with a sigh. “I suppose you’d rather sneak out right now and hunt vampires.”

Stiles froze in shock, first at the accuracy of the statement, and then at the audacity of it. Meanwhile, a slow smile was creeping up Meredith’s face.

“How- how-” Stiles stuttered aimlessly for a minute before the truth slapped him in the face. “You’re part of the founder’s council.”

Meredith nodded. “And I think after yesterday we need to rev up our membership. How many vampires did you kill?”

“27.” Stiles answered. _And created one more._

Meredith whistled. “That’s good of you and your brothers. I know hunters when I see them.”

“So there’s been others?” Stiles inquired.

Meredith nodded. “A body count like this town, it draws attention. Every single one of them met a Salvatore or a Pierce and ended up where you’re sitting now before high-tailing it out of here. Well, the ones I could save.” The implication in her tone makes them pause for a minute. “I use practices that are a little... unorthodox. With hunters, I give them a choice. Some of them say no.”

“You use vampire blood.” Stiles realized. It didn’t surprise him as much as it should have. “Did you use it on me?”

“No.” Meredith said. “I didn’t need to. The knife didn’t hit any organs, you just needed more blood.”

Stiles nodded as he took this information in. He had been lucky. Lucky that Katherine had been distracted. If she had been focusing all of her energy on him, she would have stabbed where it counted.

“Your brothers, or half brothers.” Meredith continued. “Winchester. It’s funny, I remember someone with that name.”

Stiles tensed. “You do?”

“Mhm. 20 years ago. A hunter. John, that was his name! John Winchester. I was just a student volunteer, not even in college, but I remember. Even high on pain meds he wouldn’t shut up about his two little boys named Sam and Dean.”

“This must have been right before he met Mom.” Stiles muttered. Then, to Meredith, “What was he here for?”

Meredith sighed. “A massacre. One of many in this town’s history. A solar eclipse viewing party at the Salvatore boarding house.” The name sent chills up Stiles’ spine, remembering all too clearly his interrogation by Damon there. “May 10th, 1994.There were 20 bodies, at least, including a pregnant woman. The only survivor was her boyfriend, and he couldn’t remember a thing. Your father didn’t find any vampires, he deemed that they had run. He was in here for a broken wrist from tripping over a rock.”

Stiles laughed at that, he couldn’t help it. The idea of his father hunting vampires only to be hospitalized by gravity.

Meredith squinted at him. “It really is a family business, isn’t it.” Then, before he could respond, she began to dig things out of a nearby cabinet. She flopped a mysterious bundle of fabric onto Stiles’ bed, which turned out to be a bundle of his clothes. “Your brothers had these with them.” she said. Then, she turned around as he grabbed for the dark jeans, blue t-shirt, and dark green flannel shirt eagerly and began to get dressed. “We’re on the first floor, and unfortunately, the window is unlocked. My mistake. You can open it if you want, just not too much. A grown man can slip through there.”

“Thank you.” Stiles said. “But why are you helping me?”

Meredith turned around just as Stiles was finished getting dressed. “I saw the look on your face. I didn’t have much of a choice too, of joining the council. At least as a doctor I can help in more ways than ridiculous planning. Everyone should get a chance to say goodbye to their friends.” She looked him squarely in the eye. “I’m going to be gone for six hours. I’m putting a do not disturb message on the door. When I get back, you had better be right here where I left you.” Stiles gulped and nodded. She offered him a small smile before very deliberately turning her back on him and making her way towards the door.

Stiles wasted no time. He scurried out the window, on to the pavement, and hit the ground running.

 

“How are you feeling, Caroline?” Elena asked gently. The vampire in question was laid out on a couch in Stefan’s living room, while Elena, Stefan, Bonnie, and Matt looked on.

Caroline ran her fingers deeply through her hair. “I just ate a squirrel.” she moaned. “Not good.”

“You’d think you’d be able to absorb its energy!” Matt joked. Bonnie shot him a ‘you’re-not-helping’ glare, but Caroline chuckled. She twirled her daylight ring around her finger.

“I wish.”

“Do you guys want me to say Caroline’s at my house again tonight?” Elena asked Stefan.

Stefan nodded. “I don’t think she’s ready to go home yet. But almost. The fact that she turned less than 24 hours ago and can stand to be around you three is a good sign.”

“Well whoop-de-do!” Caroline enthused sarcastically. She sat up slowly, and turned to look at her friends, but whatever she was about to say was cut off by a knock at the door.

 

Stiles lowered his hand, sure this had been a mistake. Before he had time to rectify it, however, the door opened.

Sheila Bennett opened the door slowly, as if giving herself time to shut it should the visitor be unwelcome. When she saw Stiles, however, she smiled.

“I was beginning to think you would never come, boy.”

“Well, I’m here, ma’am.” Stiles replied respectfully.

Sheila opened the door wider, and gestured for Stiles to come inside. “Why don’t you have a seat?”

“Thank you, ma’am.” Stiles said as he plopped down on a beige couch, while Sheila sat down in a yellow armchair at an angle.

“Oh, enough of that.” she said dismissively. “You can call me Sheila. So,” she leaned forward, resting her elbows on her knees, “what brings you here?”

Stiles gulped. “I need help. Well, more like guidance. It’s your job to keep the balance, right?” Sheila nodded. “Well, my friend Caroline... I don’t know what to do. See, it’s my job to keep the balance, too.”

Sheila nodded slowly several times. “Yes, I know about Caroline. Bonnie was beside herself. I’m going to tell her the same thing I told you.”

Stiles nodded. “Okay.” Sheila took a deep breath.

“Stiles, what happened to Caroline was not your fault. She made her choice and it could not have been prevented. She’s a vampire, now, yes, but she’s in good hands. I trust her to control herself, and as far as I know she has yet to kill. However, if you feel differently, if you feel you must act, I will trust that you do so with justification. Sometimes peace is better than balance.”

Stiles felt as if a weight had been tossed of of his shoulders. He grabbed Sheila’s hand and shook it vigorously. “Thank you Mrs. Bennett- I mean, Sheila.”

“You’re welcome, Stiles.” she mused. “Now go do what you need to do.”

“Yes ma’am!” Stiles declared as he made his way to the door.

“Stiles.” Sheila called after him. Stiles froze, one foot over the threshold. “I won’t be seeing you again. So I want you to know something.”

“Yes ma’am?” Stiles asked, surprised.

Sheila smiled sadly. “You look a lot like your father.”

Stiles started. “What- what- how-”

“He didn’t break his wrist tripping over a rock. I broke it when he wouldn’t stop trying to track down the Salvatores. I said to him, ‘John, you have two boys at home! Give up! They’re in the wind!’ And then he told me he couldn’t stop, now without help. So I broke his wrist.” she smiled at the memory. “He was so surprised, and grateful. Said I had saved him from himself. So you take care of yourself, boy.”

“Yes, ma’am!” Stiles assured. Then he ducked out of Sheila Bennett’s life, and onto the curb.

He knocked again, at a just-as-intimidating house, only this time Stefan answered the door.

“Uh...” Stiles began awkwardly, “hi.”

“Stiles.” Stefan said, not sounding the least bit surprised. “Come on in.”


	16. The Rest, As They Say, Is History

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Second to last chapter! The next one is the epilogue. Enjoy!

Ch. 16

The Rest, As They Say, Is History

Stiles expected the room to be very, very dark, with tapestries over lamps and curtains, and a woeful Caroline draped over the couch. He expected a somber mood for the recently passed, and he supposes that expectation is what caused him to be shocked at the actual scene before him.

Caroline _was_ draped over a couch, her head hanging off of an armrest, her blond hair stretching to the floor, a lazy hand flung over her forehead in a typical Caroline fashion. But there was _sun_. It filtered in breezily through the many windows of the ornate room, casting a lazy mood instead of a mournful one. Bonnie and Elena sat in two chairs a considerable distance from Caroline, and Matt and Tyler were leaning against the nearby wall. Meanwhile, Damon was standing, arms crossed menacingly, near the archway that Stiles had just entered. He offered Stiles a curt nod, and Stiles, in surprise, merely stared numbly back. Everyone watched Stiles with rapt attention as he approached his dead housemate, lying on the couch.

“Caroline?” Stiles began gingerly.

Caroline groaned, and opened her eyes, looking cold and calculating. Then, in a rush of vampire speed, she stood up and rushed over in front of Stiles, her eyes dark, red veins dripping from their sockets, her fangs bared.

“Go ahead.” she growled, voice distorted by her grimace. “Do it.”

Stiles, who had not even flinched upon Caroline’s swift approach, backed away quickly, dropping the hand he had been about to reach with. “No.” It was a statement of absolute finality, as if Stiles dared the heavens themselves to defy him.

Caroline, surprise, surprise, had a hard time taking no for an answer. She stalked slowly towards where Stiles stood, and, when he did not back away, she grabbed his shoulders, shaking him.

“DO IT!” she screeched. “KILL ME! I’M A MONSTER!” she began sobbing. “I-It’s your job! Just- _please_ \- do it!”

“No.” Stiles said, more firmly. “No, Caroline, I didn’t come here to hurt you.”

Something Stiles said must’ve struck a chord with Caroline. The veins from her eyes receded, her fangs retracted, and her hands fell off of Stiles’ shoulders. She held them up to her face and gazed at them, horrified, as if she hardly recognized them. Then, she let out a strangled sob.

“I hurt you.” she whispered, agast.

“No, you didn’t.” Stiles lied. Hi shoulders throbbed, and would probably bruise, but he needed to tell Caroline everything was ok. He looked at her, messy yet pulled together. Even within the first day of turning she could stop herself. She could feel remorse. She had control.

Caroline could end up being one of the greatest vampires of all time.

The vampire let out another sob, and Stiles, not knowing what else to do, grabbed her and pulled her into a hug. The hands she had been cursing wrapped around his bruised shoulders as she let out more sobs. Everyone else in the room, to their credit, stayed silent as they watched the scene unfold.

“Stiles.” Caroline said through her tears. “I don’t want to be a vampire.”

“It’s okay.” Stiles said in what he hoped was a soothing voice. “Caroline, this isn’t your fault, alright, it’s mine.”

Upon hearing this, Caroline stopped sobbing. She stiffened, and pulled away from their embrace suddenly. _Damn vampire mood swings_. Stiles thought. _What did I do now?_

“Stiles.” Caroline said sternly, and when Stiles was brave enough to make eye contact with her he saw that she no longer looked sad, only fiercely determined. “This isn’t your fault, it isn’t anyone’s fault. I could blame Damon for attacking me, for me needing vampire blood. I could blame Katherine, for breaking my neck. I could blame Stefan, for coming back into town in the first place. I could blame myself, for being stupid enough to run after you. But I’m not.” Stiles was about to interrupt, but Caroline stopped him. “Don’t. Listen. If Stefan hadn’t come into town, then I never would have met you. And if Damon hadn’t made me need vampire blood, then I’d be dead. If I hadn’t run after you I would never have forgiven myself. As for Katherine, well... she’s dead. You killed her.”

Stiles winced at the memory.

Damon mumbled something unintelligible behind them, and Caroline sent him a stony glare. “I remember what he did to me.” she told Stiles. “I’m starting to remember everything.”

“Caroline, could I just say something?” Stiles offered. She nodded, if tentatively. He took a deep breath. “Look around you. Where are you standing?”

“The Salvatore house.” Caroline replied, looking confused.

“The Salvatore house with 5 humans, one of which you were just in close proximity with. Caroline, you turned less than 24 hours ago.”

“What are you saying?” Caroline asked.

Stiles laughed. “I’m saying you’re going to be fine. No, you’re going to be fantastic. You’re going to be the most badass self controlled vampire to walk the planet.”

Caroline took that in for a second. “So... you’re not going to kill me.”

Stiles chuckled, smiling. “No, I’m not. I never was going to, it just took me a nudge in the right direction to realize that.” He seemingly randomly rolled up his right sleeve, where a thick silver bracelet lay on his wrist.

Bonnie gasped. “You’re saying goodbye.” Seven heads turned sharply towards where she sat. Stiles’ smile faltered. “It’s just,” Bonnie said sheepishly, “Grams predicted you would only come by when you were leaving.” At her words, Matt, Tyler, Elena, Stefan and Damon turned to look back at Stiles, who looked immensely guilty.

“I...” he began. “My brothers. They’re hauling me out. I shouldn’t even be here. They’ll be back to check my empty hospital room in...” he checked his watch. “Five hours.”

“Excellent.” Tyler said, straightening up.

“Really?” Stiles asked. “Why?”

“Because.” Matt added. “That gives us plenty of time to go to the grille.”

 

Ten minutes later, Stiles couldn’t believe his luck. In less than two weeks he had defeated 27 vampires, killed the notorious Katherine Pierce, saved Mystic Falls, and was now surrounded by people who knew his secret identity and yet were willing to treat him to a farewell lunch. Stiles sat at a large round table in between Bonnie and Stefan, Caroline at Stefan’s left, Elena next to her, Tyler next to her, Jeremy next to him, and all the way back to Bonnie.

Damon wasn’t with them. He was sulking at the bar, sitting next to what looked like Alaric Saltzman. Stiles raised his eyebrows, but didn’t comment. His phone buzzed as he reached for his glass of water. It ended up being a text from Scott.

_Hey man, how’s Virginia?_

Stiles thought for a minute before texting him back. _It’s good, it’s really good. I’m going to be coming home soon._

 _Alright, cool._ Scott replied. _It’s been 63 days since Alison left for France._

 _Hang in there, bro._ Stiles replied.

“Stiles!” Matt said, snapping him back to reality. “Who are you texting?”

“My best friend Scott, back in Beacon Hills.” Stiles said easily. “He’s a werewolf.”

Tyler spit out his water. “What? Your best friend is a wolf?”

“Werewolf.” Stiles corrected. “And yes. That reminds me, how did things go with Mason?”

“He ditched town.” Tyler grumbled. “Probably got wind of Katherine’s death, figured he was next.”

“He’ll be back.” Stefan said with certainty. “We still don’t know what she was running from. Did she say anything to you, Stiles?”

“No.” Stiles said, shaking his head. It was true, she hadn’t. But now, Stiles could remember her little kidnapping charade. Being chained to the Lockwood cellar, being forced to lure his brothers into town, being compelled to fight Stefan.

Stiles’ recollections must have shown on his face, for Stefan’s brow furrowed, like he was worried. “Stiles,” he said hesitantly, “I forgive you, for fighting me. It wasn’t you.”

“I know.” Stiles said. “I just can’t help but feel guilty. It wasn’t me, and yet, impossibly, it was. I hope I never have to go through something like that again.”

Bonnie started suddenly, a far away look on her face. “Nematon...” she mumbled.

“What?” Elena asked.

Bonnie snapped out of it, shaking her head. “Nothing.” she said to everyone’s worried glances. “Nothing. I just suddenly saw a really old tree. It was weird.”

Stefan looked a little concerned, but Stiles hadn’t hear the exchange at all. He was looking over to where Damon and Alaric were in deep conversation.

 

“No, Damon, I’m not going to kill you.”

“Well somebody should.” Damon said with bleak eyes. He tipped back his drink, finishing off his scotch in one go before gesturing to the barkeeper to fill it up again. The bartender, Vicki, did so, eyeing him apprehensively.

“Damon, if my wife asked you to turn her,” Alaric reassured, “then she’s not worth saving. She left me. And you look far too pathetic to stake.”

“Yeah, well, tell that to baby Winchester.” Damon mumbled. “He’s watching us now, probably trying to figure out what his next move is.”

“He’s leaving.” Alaric said. “Stefan told me before you got here. It’s a shame, too, because we could use a hunter.”

“What?” Damon asked, intrigued. “What makes you say that?” For the first time all afternoon, Damon raised his tattered gaze from the worn wooden bar. With red-rimmed wrecked eyes, he studied his new, unlikely drinking buddy. Alaric was shifting uncomfortably in his seat, like he carried a heavy secret on his shoulders.

“Isobel.” Alaric said. “Last night, she visited me.”

Damon nearly spit out his drink, he was so surprised. “What? What did she say?” The news made him look a little less dead on his feet.

Alaric looked grim. “She compelled away my anger towards her, which I’m grateful for, I guess. But she also warned me about a threat. One bigger than you, or Katherine... this town is about to go through hell.”

“What threat?” Damon asked borderline impatiently.

“Klaus.”

“Klaus.” Damon repeated. “What the hell is a Klaus?”

“Hell if I know.” Alaric said. “Damon, that’s why we need Stiles to stay. A threat bigger than Katherine? We’re going to need help!”

“I’d rather not tussle with Stiles’ brothers.” Damon grumbled. “Besides, we’ve got you, we’ve got new and improved Caroline, as well as Stefan and I. What could possibly go wrong?” Damon looked as if he believed his own message. Although Katherine’s death had left him broken, remorseful, and empty, already he looked better. The prospect of having something to do, working with his brother, and-possibly- befriending the history teacher made him shine a little brighter, begin to heal.

“I’ll drink to that.” Alaric mumbled. They clinked their glasses and the unlikely friends tipped back their scotches.

 

Back at the table, everyone was laughing from a story Stiles was telling from Beacon Hills. Even Vicki cracked a smile as she served them their food.

“How is she?” Stiles asked Matt once their server had disappeared behind the bar.

“She’ll be alright.” Matt said. “Give or take some therapy. She’s off to college soon. I think that will be good for her. Me, I’ll be okay. It’s just...”

“The world got a little bigger and a lot scarier.” Jeremy finished.

The two looked at eachother, and Stiles saw an understanding form.

“No.”

Matt and Jeremy, (as well as anyone at the table listening... okay the whole table) turned, surprised towards Stiles’ sharp declaration.

“Absolutely not. No way am I letting you guys become hunters.”

“We weren’t...” Jeremy began futilely, but even he could see that his argument was weak.

Stiles shut him up with a glare. “Oh, really?”

“Stiles,” Matt said, “with all due respect, you’re leaving and this town is vulnerable.” He shot a sideways glance at Stefan. “No offense.”

“None taken.” Stefan said, thinking hard. “But I agree with Stiles. It’s a dangerous life, I mean, look what happened to Caroline.” The vampire in question smiled sadly.

Matt and Jeremy, wisely, said no more on the subject.

 

Four hours ticked by, of Stiles and Stefan trading stories of supernatural encounters, Bonnie squealing of her exciting plans to become a witch, and everyone else just letting off steam. Damon had left the bar a long time ago, leaving Alaric alone.

“-And then Lydia freaking Martin just happens to know archaic Latin, so we let her translate. And it was so awkward to basically fire our counselor, Ms. Morrell, and Jackson was useless the whole time, only later, we figured out why-”

“Jackson was the kanima, wasn’t he?” Elena shouted out gleefully, drunk on the good vibes of the afternoon. They all were.

“YES!” Stiles roared. “We have a winner!”

“Whoo!” Bonnie exclaimed while the whole table clapped. Stiles threw back his head in laughter, and as he did he noticed Alaric by himself. Excusing himself from his friends, he went over to his former teacher.

“You should know,” Alaric turned around from the bar in surprise, “that I don’t approve of what you’re doing. That being said, I think it’s for the best.”

“Thanks, Stiles.” Alaric said a little awkwardly.

“Yeah, I mean I’m sixteen and you’re like, 50, so it’s not like I can tell you what to do. Just be careful with Klaus. I have no idea who he is, and that’s bad.” Alaric opened his mouth, surprised that the kid had overheard his conversation with Damon, and wanted to say more on the subject, but Stiles was already walking back to the table.

“I need to leave.” he said solemnly.

The effect was simultaneous. Everyone stood up at once, each wanting to say goodbye individually.

Stiles started with Jeremy. He gave the boy a hug and patted him on the shoulder. “Take care, druggie.” Jeremy smiled, and was determined to kick the habit for good. He had Vicki, he had a reason to fight... maybe even hunt. Of course, Stiles didn’t have to know that.

Stiles moved on and hugged Elena. “Take care.” he said. She smiled, though tears started to form in her eyes. “Listen.” Stiles said softly, more seriously. “I know what you’re thinking, but this isn’t your fault. Nor should you have to suffer because of someone else’s mistakes. Elena, dealing with this stuff, it will get easier. Something tells me this is only the beginning.” Elena smiled through her tears as she choked back a sob. Stefan put his arm around her reassuringly, and Stiles knew the couple would survive. Taking a deep breath, he looked Stefan squarely in the eye. “I told you you weren’t worth saving.” he said. “I told you you didn’t care about humanity. I’m sorry. You didn’t deserve that. I’m so very glad I was wrong.” Stiles offered Stefan a small smile and was relieved to see it returned.

“No, you were right, Stiles.” Stefan said. “I wasn’t trying hard enough. You saved this town, not me but _you_. You save all of these people,” he gestured to his friends surrounding them, “and I can’t thank you enough for that. Thank you, Stiles.”

Stiles nodded but bent his head down, abashed. He took Tyler as a welcome change of subject, giving him a quick hug. “By the way, my friend, Jackson, he was also a werewolf.” Tyler looked positively shocked and Stiles cackled. “Good luck, Tyler. Track down your uncle.”

Matt came up and hugged Stiles. “Thank you,” he said, “for my sister.”

“Anytime.” Stiles mumbled. “Thanks for being a great friend.” There were only two people left now, Bonnie and Caroline.

“Caroline.” Stiles said weakly as he hugged his (now former) roommate. Caroline sobbed happily into his shoulder.

“I’m going to miss you!” she mumbled.

“Hey, I’m only a phone call away!” he reassured, “And maybe like 6 hours at vamp speed!”

Caroline laughed through her tears, but underneath it was an insecurity about her new status. Sensing this, Stiles rushed to comfort her. “Hey,” he said softly, pulling away from her embrace to look at her. “You’re going to be fine. You’re going to be the best vampire/hunter ever to waltz across the planet.” Caroline let out a sob and giggled again, covering her mouth.

“Goodbye, Stiles.” she whispered.

“C’mon, Stiles.” Bonnie said. “I’ll walk you out.”

“Okay.” Stiles said. He turned to look at his friends one last time in the ambient grille. They were like him. Damaged by the supernatural, poisoned even, yet here they were, still standing, stronger than ever. They all smiled, even as he turned his back on them and walked out the door. Once he was a few feet away, Bonnie enveloped him into a hug.

“Thank you, Stiles.” she mumbled.

“You’re welcome.” he said, surprised. “And thank you.” He rolled up his sleeve, where another silver bracelet lay. “Sheila gave me this before I left. I’m betting that was your idea.”

“Yeah.” Bonnie said with a small chuckle. Then, without warning, she leaned forward and gave him a small peck on the cheek.

Stiles, wonderful idiot that he was, turned tomato red and stepped backwards very quickly, nearly knocking himself over in surprise. Bonnie merely chuckled heartily. “Take care, Stiles. And maybe tell that girl, Lydia, how you feel.”

“Wha-” Stiles began, but Bonnie cut him off with a sly, knowing grin.

“I’m a witch now, Stiles. Remember that.” She flashed another genuine smile before turning around to walk back to the grille.

“I will.” Stiles promised before she was out of earshot. “Thank you, Bonnie.”

With her back turned, Bonnie smiled again, and kept smiling long after Stiles had moved down the road.

 

Stiles was almost back to the hospital, minding his own business, when he felt a presence watching him. Scoffing, he turned around, and sure enough, there was Damon Salvatore. “Save it.” Stiles said. “You’ve tortured yourself enough for one day.”

“You have no idea what I’m going to say, hunter.” Damon spat, and Stiles felt oddly relieved to see him starting to sound like his old self.

“My mistake.” Stiles muttered, and, resigned, he began to walk back towards the hospital. Damon fell into step beside him.

“Listen Stiles,” Damon began haughtily, “I wanted to thank you.”

Stiles stopped in his tracks. “I killed your girlfriend.” he said. “I don’t see how that merits a thanks.”

“She didn’t love me.” Damon said spitefully. “She used me. Kept me under her spell for 150 years. Because of her, I turned into a monster, and I hurt people. Including you.”

“Yeah,” Stiles said, subconsciously rubbing his throat, remembering the less-than-friendly interrogation he had with Damon. “Maybe. But I’d say you more than redeemed yourself by killing all of those tomb vampires.” Damon looked like he wanted to argue, but Stiles cut him off.”Damon, it’s not my job to forgive you. It’s Stefan’s, it’s Elena’s, it’s Caroline's, but most importantly, it’s yours. Forgive yourself, Damon. No one can do it for you.”

Damon looked heartbroken. “If I hadn't attacked Caroline in the woods-”

“-then Caroline would be dead.” Stiles finished.

Damon looked at Stiles, really looked at him, and something seemed to click. His cocky grin reformed, and he looked a million times less heartbroken.

Stiles hoped that was a good thing.

“I owe you, Stiles.” Damon said. “And I don’t like being in debt. If those werewolves ever give you any trouble, call.”

Stiles blinked, and suddenly, Damon was gone. He let out a sigh. Vampires were exhausting. No wonder his brothers loathed them.

His brothers... Stiles glanced at his watch. _Shoot_. He had fifteen minutes.

He ran. Putting one foot in front of the other, hitting the pavement twice a second with a dull thud. Thud, thud, heel-to-toe, heel-to-toe, not in a thin forest but a concrete jungle, up pretty suburban lawns to the looming hospital. He thought of his own gnarly and twisted forest as he ran and a pang of homesickness hit him. A thought crossed his mind. _Werewolves run_. He smiled. Vampires sped, but werewolves ran, and that’s what Stiles was doing. Running out of Mystic Falls, and back to Beacon Hills, back to his own poisoned youth. Back to his pack.


	17. Epilouge: Tattoo

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Last chapter! I hope everyone enjoyed this story. The sequel is called "The Ultimate Battle of Wits" and will be posted soon, it features Kol Michaelson and Kai Parker. The theory behind this ending is that it ends right at the start of Teen Wolf season 3a, which then proceeds as canon until the next story because no one knows that Stiles is a hunter. ("Blood on my Name" takes place chronologically after this.) Thanks for reading, and see you at the sequel!

Ch. 17

Epilogue: Tattoo

He made it in the nick of time.

Stiles jumped through the open window and dove into the sheets just as Meredith Fell was running through a rather long preamble as she opened the door for Sam and Dean. She turned over to look at his bed, and once she saw him, relief flooded their eyes. Some part of Stiles wondered if she had doubted he would return from the vampire den.

“Stiles!” Dean exclaimed. “You’re awake!”

“Yep!” Stiles said languidly, sipping a nearby cup of water with a straw, like that had been all he had been doing for the last six hours.

“Excellent!” Dean said. “So we can hit the road!” He turned to Meredith. “Doc, would you mind signing us out?”

“Of course!” Meredith said with a knowing smile. “Let me just do one last check on Stiles’ vitals.”

“Of course.” Sam said. He and Dean left the room, and Meredith walked over to Stiles’ bed. She checked his blood pressure and everything else rather quickly, and began packing up her equipment.

“How was it, Stiles?” Meredith asked.

“Fine.” Stiles replied. “Great, actually. Caroline is... struggling, but she’ll be okay. They all will.”

Meredith gave him a wary glance, as if she wasn’t sure whether to believe everything could have gone that well, but she bowed her head in acceptance as she changed Stiles’ bandages. “Good, I’m glad.”

Stiles steeled himself before asking his next question. “You’ll.... look after them, won’t you? Medically, I mean? Because something named Klaus is coming to town and I’m not going to be there to stop it-”

Stiles was cut off by Meredith’s stern but kind glare. “Yes, Stiles, I will. I don’t get my vampire blood just by sitting around.” She smiled kindly, even though they both knew she was completely serious.

Stiles chuckled, relieved. “Here’s a tip, stay away from Damon. Something tells me he wouldn’t take kindly to being blood jacked.”

Meredith raised an eyebrow inquisitively. “Noted.”

Finished removing the bandages and packing up her equipment, Meredith clapped her hands together with satisfaction. “Alright, get your stuff together. Your brothers will be by the reception desk.” Stiles got his things and the two made their way out of the room and down the fluorescently lit hall. They were almost at the desk when Meredith turned towards him.  
“Stiles, it was great meeting you. I wish you luck.”

“Likewise.” Stiles said.

“So you will understand when I say I hope I never have to see you again?”

Stiles laughed. “Yeah, I understand.”

Meredith didn’t say anymore. She merely waved goodbye with a smile as Stiles was soon surrounded by the suffocating presence of his brothers. As she turned and walked back down the sterile hallway they had come from, Stiles wondered if maybe Mystic Falls was in good hands after all.

 

Stiles didn’t look back as the Winchesters drove out of Mystic Falls. He sat in the backseat of the Impala, his jeep being driven back to Beacon Hills by a transportation service. It made Stiles uncomfortable, having his jeep in some stranger’s hands, but Dean pointed out that it was best they all drove back together, for ‘debriefing’ as Sam called it.

Well, that couldn’t be good.

As it was, Stiles missed all of the furtive glances Sam and Dean shared, towards Stiles, towards each other, and towards a mysterious location they alluded to on their map. If he had noticed, he wouldn’t have agreed to drive with them.

Nevertheless, Stiles didn’t look back as he left Mystic Falls. He didn’t think he needed to.

_I’ll be back._

It wasn’t a promise, it was a certainty. Because whether it would be Klaus, or who knows what else, Mystic Falls was now on the map for supernatural activity just as much as Beacon Hills. Stiles would be back. Someday, sooner or later, they would need him. Even with Alaric, Stefan and Meredith, Mystic Falls would need defending and Stiles would make sure to be there. He would come back to his new friends, to the land of the vampires. The supernatural has a way of clinging to something and never letting go. So no, Stiles did not look back as he left. He didn’t need to.

 

They were 200 miles from Beacon Hills before Stiles noticed something wrong. The first day, Sam and Dean had questioned him on everything they missed, from moving in to Caroline’s house to high school to getting interrogated by Damon Salvatore to getting captured by Katherine.

_“She strung you up like a piece of meat?” Dean asked. When Stiles nodded in confirmation he whistled. “That bitch.”_

_“And how can you remember this?” Sam asked, very intrigued by compulsion. “I thought she compelled you to forget when she programmed you to fight anyone who asked about her.”_

_“She did.” Stiles confirmed, wincing at the memory of attacking Stefan. “But she also built in an undo, that also caused me to temporarily pass out during the fight.”_

_“The word ‘stellar.’” Dean confirmed._

_Stiles nodded. “Exactly.”_

_Sam scrunched his brow in confusion. “Our drop-everything word? Why?” He was just glad it had been changed from ‘funky town.’_

_“Katherine knew I was going to tip Dean off.” Stiles said ruefully. “It was her idea of a joke.”_

_“Whatever. Ding-dong, the bitch is dead. Nice job, Stiles.” Dean said appreciatively._

The second day, Stiles had started texting Matt, Tyler, Bonnie, Caroline, and even Stefan about what he was missing. So far, nothing yet, and the five had agreed to keep him updated on a regular basis. Meanwhile, Sam and Dean had been arguing about the case they had been on with Rufus.

_“Well dammit, Sam, how was I supposed to know dudes could be mermaids, too?”_

_Sam paled as he recalled one very horrible and humiliating moment on their case. “I don’t know, Dean, it’s just common sense!”_

_Dean sighed. “Whatever. Rufus owes us one now. Especially after the whole mess with the tuna...”_

_Sam went from very pale to very, very red._

The third and last day of the trip, Stiles began to notice his brothers’ strange behaviors. The furtive looks, the whispering, and Stiles got the feeling that it was about him. Growing more worried by the hour, it wasn’t until they were 200 miles from Beacon Hills that he began to think something was wrong.

“Guys?” he asked Sam and Dean from the back seat. “Everything okay?”

Sam and Dean swiveled around simultaneously to face him, and it was eerie. Stiles would never get used to that. “Everything’s fine, Stiles.” Dean reassured before switching his attention back to driving. “I just think baby might have a flat tire. We’re going to need to pull over to a shop to get her fixed up.”

“Okay.” Stiles said, and the explanation kept him satisfied for the few minutes it took Dean to get off of the highway. But the more time passed, the more he saw holes in the logic. First of all, it will be a cold day in hell before _Dean Winchester_ lets a mere _mechanic_ touch his baby. Second of all, since when did Sam care about the functions of the Impala? And third of all, the more Stiles realized, they had been acting secretive for _days_. Surely changing a flat tire didn’t take that much time to debate. Stiles was so convinced that something else was wrong, that when the car finally stopped, he wasn’t surprised to find that they weren’t at a mechanic shop.

Instead, he was horrified.

A tattoo parlor. Sam and Dean had taken him to a tattoo parlor.

What. The actual. Hell.

“Dean?” Stiles asked, fear creeping into his voice, praying he was wrong. “I think you made a wrong turn.”

“Get out of the car, Stiles.” Dean said, taking every ounce of self control to not burst into laughter and remain serious.

“Why?” Stiles asked. “Why should I?” He looked to Sam for support, but that proved to be a mistake. The traitor in question turned around to face him, full puppy dog mode.

“Because,” Sam said, “You just finished your first solo hunt, and you’re heading back to a supernatural magnet. We figured an initiation of sorts is in order.”

“What?” Stiles asked. “What could it possibly be that would bring us _here_?” But deep down he already knew.

“An anti-possession tattoo!” Dean said matter-of-factly. “Right over the chest.”

Stiles nearly passed out right then and there at the thought of that many needles close to his heart. He gulped. “Does my dad know about this?”

Sam chuckled. “It was his idea.”

That was it for Stiles. Even though he knew he was acting childish, he crossed his arms and stayed firmly put. “Nu-uh, no way. I don’t care if it’s for my own good. You’ll have to drag me in there.”

Dean sighed. “So be it.”

 

They dragged Stiles into the (thankfully empty) tattoo parlor kicking and screaming, Dean laughing the whole way, Sam much less so, but that might have been because Stiles kicked him in the face. Once they had gotten him settled (strapped) into a chair, and he had stopped making quite so much of a fuss, the only employee, a curvy woman with dyed russet hair pulled into a ponytail and heavily tattooed arms, approached them cautiously.

“What can I do for you fellas?” she asked in a surprisingly pixie-like voice.

“Could you do this symbol in black over his heart?” Dean asked, handing the woman a sketch of the anti-possession symbol.

The woman took the paper and analyzed it for a few seconds. If she found the symbol odd, she didn’t say, or perhaps she simply didn’t care enough to ask. “Sure, I can do that.” she said. “Just let me take a few minutes to get set up.”

For five agonizing minutes, Stiles waited for the woman to set up. Sam awkwardly popped Stiles’ shirt open a few buttons, undeterred by Stiles’ death glare, or the way his fingers clenched as he wished he could force-choke his brother like Darth Vader.

Finally, she was ready, and, sitting on Stiles’ left side, brandished a very, very long needle over Stiles’ chest. Dean stood over Stiles, hands pressing into the boy’s shoulders, locking him in place. Sam was on Stiles’ right, holding his right arm, while Stiles’ left arm and leg were tied to the chair.

“He doesn’t like needles.” Dean had explained with a _what can you do?_ grin when he had explained the strange request to the tattoo lady, Adrianne, her name tag read. “He’ll get over it.” He offered a sheepish smile.

Time passed slowly for Stiles, from the moment the needle first entered his skin to the moment it ended. He screamed, he cried, Sam and Dean looked at him with sympathy and he glared back. By the time it was all over, he was seething.

Adrianne withdrew the needle and looked satisfied with her work. The tattoo was small, about half the size of the palm of Stiles’ hand. It was low enough that it couldn’t be seen while wearing a regular shirt. Stiles held his hand up to it, hovering over it.

“C-can I touch it?” he asked.

Adrianne nodded. “Sure. The skin might be a little sensitive, though. Let me get you a band-aid while it heals.” She got up and went to a back room. Sam and Dean undid the straps around his legs and arm while Stiles gingerly poked his tattoo. He winced, the skin was a little sensitive, but it was nothing compared to the agony he had just endured. Even though Stiles was mad at his brothers for their conspiracy, he couldn’t help but feel a little swell of pride when he saw the anti-possession symbol. It made him feel like a real hunter.

Hopefully he would never need it.

Dean seemed to be thinking along the same line as Stiles. “We don’t expect Beacon Hills to be under any demon attacks,” he said, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly in a gesture Stiles recognized as his own, “nor do we expect anyone to possess you, but this helps us sleep at night.”

“You’re a real hunter, now.” Sam said with a small laugh. Warmth filled through Stiles at the sound of it. He felt accepted (or it might have just been the adrenaline.) and would have probably pulled his brothers into a huge bear hug had Adrianne not come back in with a band-aid. She fixed Stiles up, Sam paid (in cash), and the three Winchesters made their way down the road.

“You know I’m never going to forgive you guys for this.” Stiles said as he leaned forward onto the front seat, his head in between his brothers’.

Sam laughed. “Maybe not. But we’ll make it up to you, I promise. Want to hear about our next case?”

Stiles nodded vigorously.

Sam smiled. “Alright so get this. There’s this house in Sacramento, abandoned, and every time a cat walks by...”

Stiles listened intently, collapsing back into the backseat of the Impala, the place where his new tattoo was throbbing uncomfortably. He didn’t mind, though. Dean was right, it was better to be safe than sorry.

 

“Stiles!” Dean said, shaking him awake by his shoulder. “Wake up.”

“Aaaa!” Stiles exclaimed, snapping upright with a panicked expression, waving his hands (in a poorly executed knife-hand block) threateningly.

“We’re here.” Dean said, covering his mouth to prevent laughing at his brother’s antics. Stiles hastily checked his behavior then looked outside. Sure enough, the sun had just set, and the Impala was parked outside of his house. Sam was carrying his suitcase through the door. Once he came out, he walked over to where Stiles had just climbed out of the car.

“Well, I guess this is goodbye.” Stiles said mournfully. He pulled his brothers into a hug, and with some chuckles they pat Stiles’ back comfortingly.

“We’ll see you soon, Stiles.” Dean said. He looked around himself suspiciously. “Something will come up.”

“God, I hope not." Stiles said with a weak laugh. “I’m not sure how much more this town can take.”

Sam smiled tightly. “All the same, Stiles, we’re only a phone call away.”

Stiles laughed. “Sam, nothing is going to happen. We’ve already had werewolves and a kanima! What else could possibly go wrong?”

He would later regret saying that.

“Alright, well, you’ll call us on Sunday like usual?” Dean said.

“Yes, Dean.” Stiles said exasperatedly. “Now _go_. Have fun in Sacramento!”

“Alright, alright we’re leaving!” Dean said, shooting one last grin at his baby brother. He and Sam climbed into the car and drove away.

 

“Hey Sam, why do you suppose Stiles is always in a rush for us to leave?” Dean asked once they were a couple miles away from Beacon Hills.

Sam shrugged. “He’s probably worried about his friends finding out. I mean, werewolves are crazy territorial. They probably keep an eye on his place.”

Dean shuddered. “That’s creepy.”

Sam sighed. “Well it’s not like we’re any better, Dean. We put a tracker in his phone.”

“Yeah, but he knows about that.”

“And he probably knows about them, too.” Sam said. “Hence why he’s so eager to ditch us. You see where I’m going with this?”

“Alright, alright!” Dean snapped. “You know, this has gone on long enough. It was one thing when Stiles’ friends weren’t involved in the supernatural, but now they are. I say the next time we roll into town, we make him tell them.”

“We’ll see.” Sam said.

“I don’t understand it. I mean, the kid had no trouble ditching his Mystic Falls buddies without a peep!”

Sam laughed, but stopped when Dean threw him an agitated look. “Um... Dean, you do know Stiles sneaked out of the hospital room, right?”

Sam regretted saying that instantly. Dean had a look of death himself on his face.

“He WHAT?”

 

“Hey, dad!” Stiles said once he re-entered his house. His dad was sitting in the kitchen, reading the newspaper. Stiles sniffed the air suspiciously. “Dad, please don’t tell me you had cheeseburgers while I was gone.”

Sheriff Stilinski looked up from his paper, eyeing his son shrewdly. “Okay, I won’t tell you.”

Stiles groaned. “Dad!”

John Stilinski put the paper down, stood up, and walked over to his son. “How was the hunt, son?” Stiles recognized the immediate change in topic but went with it anyway.

 _Caroline’s broken neck, Katherine’s lifeless body...“_ It was good.”

“How was the new school? Did you make any friends?” John asked.

_Caroline and Damon in the center of the ruins while everyone looks accusingly at Stiles. “I didn’t poison anyone!” he snapped._

_But that wasn’t entirely true._

“Yeah, I made some friends.” he said. “I’ll keep in touch with them.” As he said this, his phone rang shrilly. With a quick apology to his dad, he ran upstairs to take it.

It was Bonnie.

“Hello!” he said.

“Stiles! Hey! I’ve missed you already!” she said excitedly.

“Hey, Bonnie, what’s up?” he asked, thrilled to hear from her so soon.

“I just wanted to let you know,” she said, “that you may have some trouble. Damon’s going to kill you for putting vervain in his liquor cabinet.”

Stiles laughed. “Tell him to get a drink of water.”

Bonnie laughed and started talking to someone in the background. From the shouting, Stiles gathered it was Damon. Bonnie relayed Stiles’ message, there was a pause, sputtering, and then even more shouting and laughter.

“You poisoned the boarding house’s water supply, too?” Bonnie asked Stiles, impressed.

Stiles smiled. “You bet I did. I’ll talk to you later, Bonnie. I have another call to make.” Bonnie and him said their goodbyes and hung up.

Stiles sighed before dialing Scott.

“Scotty!” he said, once the werewolf had picked up. “I have returned!”

“Stiles!” Scott said, overjoyed, like a dog whose owner had come home. “How was Virginia?”

 _Stiles sat with all of his new friends at the grill for hours, laughing._ “It was fantastic, Scott.”

“Good, I’m glad.”

“Yeah.” Stiles said. “What’d I miss?”

“Oh not much.” Scott began. “Lydia’s been doodling like crazy since Jackson left, these weird trees. Erica and Boyd are still AWOL, Derek’s been acting weird, he just repainted his door...” Stiles tuned Scott out as he rambled, thinking of Mystic Falls. Was Bonnie practicing witchcraft? Did Tyler find Mason? Were Caroline, Matt, Vicki and Jeremy okay? Did Elena get back together with Stefan? (ok, he knew the answer to that...) A change in Scott’s tone of voice brought Stiles back to reality.

“Hey, listen, I know you just got back, but I’ve got to ask you a favor. Do you have your jeep?”

Stiles peered out his window, and sure enough, the jeep was parked in the driveway. “Yeah, I do.”

“Excellent!” Scott said. “There’s something I want to do. As a way of rewarding myself for not calling or texting Allison all summer.”

“What is it, Scott?” Stiles asked, foreboding creeping up on him.

“I want you to help me get a tattoo.”

Stiles fell down in surprise, the afternoon’s events rushing in on him like a nightmare, the part of his chest where his tattoo was burned uncontrollably. Slowly, he climbed back up to a sitting position and grasped blindly for the phone. He found it, and clumsily brought it to his ear.

“You have _got_ to be kidding me.”


End file.
